‘Law & Order: SVU’ Cast Potential Rollins Replacement Before Kelli Giddish Exit

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit may have been preparing for Kelli Giddish leaving the show last month. The show cast former Days of Our Lives star Molly Burnett as a new detective in July, weeks before Giddish surprisingly announced that Season 24 will be her last. Giddish has played Det. Amanda Rollins on the NBC series since 2011.

Burnett was cast as Det. Grace Muncy, TVLine reported on July 26. The character picked up experience working with gangs before she joins Capt. Olivia Benson’s squad. Burnett also starred in Queen of the South, CSI: Cyber, and General Hospital. She previously worked with Law & Order mastermind Dick Wolf on Chicago P.D. and FBI: Most Wanted.

Wednesday started as a day to celebrate for Law & Order fans, since NBC released a trailer for the three-show crossover that kicks off the new season on Sept. 22. However, Giddish’s announcement threw a wrench in the party. In response to online chatter, Giddish confirmed Season 24 will be the end for Rollins. “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,” Giddish wrote on Instagram. “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.”

Giddish’s final episode is expected to air during the first half of Season 24, sources told TVLine. It’s unclear how she will be written out, but an insider told the site Rollins will have a “traumatic” experience early on in the season. Her departure will also leave A.D.A. “Sonny” Carisi (Peter Scanavino) heartbroken since they finally took their relationship romantic during Season 23.

Burnett isn’t the only newcomer to the SVU universe this season. David Graziano is taking over as showrunner after longtime executive producer Warren Leight left. Graziano responded to fans who expressed their frustration with Giddish leaving on her Instagram post.

“You might take a moment to entertain the idea that things are more complex than they appear in a world of emojis and tweets,” Graziano wrote. “All I’ll say is Kelli has handled this with the most incredibly classy comportment. She is, without a doubt, one of the finest industry professionals I’ve come across in my 24 years of writing television. I’m saddened by her looming exit. It’ll be my lucky day if I ever get to write for her again.”

Giddish started her TV career on All My Children in 2005. In 2007, she worked with Wolf for the first time, appearing as different characters in episodes of SVU and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She scored her first lead role in the short-lived Fox series Past Life, then starred in another short-lived show, Chase, before she was cast as Rollins on SVU in 2011. Giddish played Rollins in crossovers with Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.