‘Law & Order: SVU’: Kelli Giddish Teases Changes for Rollins in Season 26 Return

Kelli Giddish is returning to Law & Order: SVU, and she’s spilling some details on her comeback. After playing Detective Amanda Rollins for 11 seasons, Giddish left the long-running procedural in the middle of Season 24 but has occasionally returned since then. It was recently revealed that she will be coming back for multiple episodes in the upcoming 26th season, and she’s now teasing some big changes coming for Rollins, who is now working as a sergeant for the NYPD’s Intelligence Unit.

“Rollins gets to come back within her capacity at the NYPD Intelligence Unit, a new division for her which has been very titillating for me to learn about, to aid Benson and company and their cases at SVU,” Giddish told TV Insider. “There will be a handful of episodes with her, and I think the spacing of the episodes will work perfectly with audiences not getting sick of too much Rollins.”

Rollins and her new partner, played by Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist‘s John Clarence Stewart, “are investigating a crew of crime tourists, which are bad guys that fly into towns and cities, do a lot of damage, and are back on a plane within 48 hours,” Giddish shared. It’s a big change for Rollins, who is used to working with the SVU or teaching. It’s nothing she can’t handle, though, as Giddish said that Rollins “loves her new job.”

Giddish will return for the Oct. 24 episode, which will see a couple having their dinner party interrupted by a home invasion and assault by masked men, which is where Rollins comes into play. It should be fun to see her with her new job, especially since she’ll have the chance to work alongside Olivia and co. once again, which is always a good thing.

As of now, it’s unknown how many episodes of Law & Order: SVU Kelli Giddish will be appearing in, but if the remaining appearances are anything like her first Season 26 episode, then there’s going to be a lot to look forward to. In the meantime, Season 26 of on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, with Giddish’s first episode airing on Oct. 24. More information on her other appearances throughout the season should be revealed in the coming weeks or months, depending on when they are.