'Law & Order: SVU': Rollins Reportedly Returning With a Major Character Development

A major Law & Order: SVU character is reportedly returning to the show, and it's said that she will be pregnant this time around. TV Line reports that sources have stated Kelli Giddish will be coming back to the series, reprising her role as NYPD Detective Amanda Rollins. The outlet noted that NBC has declined to comment on the report. Rollins left the SVU squad earlier this season in an emotional episode where she decided to take a teaching job after the stresses of her life as a detective began to weigh on her.

Giddish confirmed her exit from SVU in August 2022, explaining that she would be leaving the show in Season 24. "I wanted to address the chatter I've seen online and let everyone know that this will, indeed, be my last season on Law & Order: SVU," she wrote in an announcement statement. "Playing Rollins has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life. I've been so fortunate to be a part of the Law & Order family for the last 12 years. There is simply no other character on TV like Rollins. 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."

In Season 24, Episode 9 — "And a Trauma in a Pear Tree" — Rollins and Assistant District Attorney Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, Jr. (Peter Scanavino) marry one another. Rollins retires from the NYPD and accepts a teaching position at Fordham University. Her exit was an emotional one for fans of the long-running series.

Interestingly, back in 2018 Scanavino spoke to Hollywood Life and suggested that a romance between his character and Giddish's Detective Rollins might happen. "You know, it's strange because I feel like Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Carisi are a very organic relationship," he stated while attending the Tribeca TV Festival. "It kind of came from Kelly and I just being pretty good friends."

"When I first came to the show, Rollins hated my character's guts," Scanavino added. "And I was like, why are you so angry all the time? But now we get along really well. I think we got really good charisma onscreen, so we kind of developed this friendship.

"I think there is something there," the actor went on to say, but clarified that he "can't speculate" on what the writers might be planning for the season. "I mean I would not be opposed," Scanavino admitted. "But I mean, also it might be difficult for it to happen, maybe give it time on the show."