Benson and Rollins are back together again, as Kelli Giddish is returning to guest star on the NBC drama!
Guess who’s back, back again? It’s none other than Kelli Giddish, and she’s reprising her role as Detective Amanda Rollins in Law and Order: SVU season 26!
Fans remember the actress initially left the NBC drama back in December 2022, and she’s been returning to the show in shorter stints since then. Well, it looks like Kelli will be back on screen, as she will be making a guest appearance on the show at some point in a few episodes of Law and Order: SVU season 26, per People.
And what better way to confirm Kelli’s return than by having Mariska Hargitay (who plays lead character Captain Olivia Benson) confirm the news? She shocked fans with a sweet Instagram photo of the duo embracing in a hug, cementing the announcement of them being together on TV once again.
“Your welcome. (And thank you sweet Mary for capturing this moment),” she cheekily wrote in the caption on September 5.
Upon seeing Mariska and Kelli’s delightful reunion, fans couldn’t stop screaming in excitement over what’s to come.
The last time Kelli appeared on screen was back in January, where fans learned Rollins and her husband Sonny Carisi (Peter Scanavino) were celebrating the baptism of their son Nicky. Folks also learned Rollins had left her job as a professor at Fordham University, which gave her some time to work with Benson on the SVU case she was working on at the time.
So, does this mean Kelli will be back in a full-time capacity? Likely not, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t fond of her time working on Law and Order: SVU — and the bond she built with Mariska.
“That relationship really developed organically over time into such a strong female relationship,” she told People back in December 2022. “It wasn’t like I came on the show 12 years ago and we were like, ‘Hey, I’m going to be your best buddy.’ It wasn’t that. Every step of the way was earned, every hardship and every step back, Rollins had to fight her way back into being trusted again. So it was really fun to play and it kind of mirrors mine and Mariska’s relationship in real life.”
