It isn’t quite “dun-dun” for Kelli Giddish! The 42-year-old actress best known for playing NYPD Det. Amanda Rollins is set to return to “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” after an unexpected exit last year.
The beloved character — who has been to hell and back during a 12-season tour — will report to duty next month. Sort of.
According to TVLine, Rollins will make a cameo appearance for the upcoming season finale to break the news that she is with child.
Since 2007, Giddish starred in the long-running Dick Wolf-helmed crime procedural before leaving the show in September 2022.
Ahead of the show’s Season 24 premiere last fall, she gracefully confirmed her departure on Instagram, describing her role on the show as “one of the greatest joys and privileges” of her life.
“There is simply no other character on TV like Rollins,” Giddish continued. “She’s grown and changed, and I have as well. I started on this show when I was in my late 20s and I’m grateful I got to spend so many of my adult years with Rollins in my life.”
The former “All My Children” alum appeared in the Sept. 22 premiere episode, which brought together the casts of “Law & Order,” “SVU” and the most recently launched “Law & Order: Organized Crime” in a three-hour crossover event.
Rollins married assistant district attorney Dominick “Sonny” Carisi (played by Peter Scanavino) in a last-minute courthouse wedding. Her partners in crime-fighting — Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson and Ice-T’s Odafin “Fin” Tutuola — were also in attendance for the low-key nuptials. She eventually left the Special Victims Unit for a teaching gig at Fordham University.
Earlier this week, “Law & Order: SVU” was among all six of Dick Wolf’s NBC series renewed through next year. The announcement further extends the top-rated show as the longest-running prime-time live-action series on television.
———
