With Law & Order: SVU Season 26 fast approaching, fans have a question: Will Kelli Giddish return as Amanda Rollins?
Since Kelli was let go from the show in December 2022 due to budgetary constraints, there has been hope that she will one day reclaim her status as a series regular.
Instead, she’s made sporadic appearances since her big exit, which has kept fans updated on what Rollins has been up to.
According to TVLine, Kelli is locked in as a guest star for Law & Order: SVU Season 26.
The exciting news is that it won’t just be a single episode, with showrunner David Graziano telling the outlet that she’ll make “a bunch of appearances throughout the season.”
“We’re really happy about it,” the exec explained before divulging that Rollins will work with the New York Police Department’s Intelligence Unit when she resurfaces.
Rollins’ new job should create opportunities for her return
Having Rollins get a new job is a neat way to keep the character around because Benson, Carisi, and the other characters sometimes work with that team on some of their cases.
It keeps the character around in the narrative, even if she won’t be on every episode, so it’s better than nothing.
Losing a series regular is difficult for the show and fans. But it’s really sad that Rollins still had plenty of storyline potential when Kelli was unceremoniously written off the show.
While Law & Order: SVU will be on the air through 2025, there are questions about its long-term future after NBC mulled canceling Law & Order: Organized Crime.
The Christopher Meloni-fronted drama ultimately moved to Peacock, but it makes us wonder how long these long-running shows are sustainable on broadcast networks.
The future of Law & Order: SVU is up in the air
Many long-running shows are being canceled nowadays due to the continued economic challenges plaguing the broadcast networks.
Shows like the Law & Order and One Chicago universes have felt the pinch because they have such expansive casts.
While they have the viewership to warrant staying, there have been cast changes to prevent the shows from becoming a financial problem.
At one point, the Law & Order and One Chicago franchises secured multi-year renewals, but nowadays, it’s hard to tell if our favorite shows will remain on the air for long.
Law & Order: SVU Season 26 premieres on NBC on Thursday, October 3, at 9/8c. Stream Seasons 1-25 on Peacock.