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Law and Order: SVU fans will be thrilled to find out Amanda Rollins (played by Kelli Giddish) will have a much more expanded role in the upcoming season.
The beloved Special Victims Unit star departed her role as a series regular on the hit NBC drama back in 2023 during the show’s 24th outing.
Fans were furious with her exit, despite getting a happy ending by marrying Dominic ‘Sonny’ Carisi (Peter Scanavino) in a touching ceremony midway through the season.
Thankfully, she’s since returned as a guest star a number of times, most recently when she returned back in May this year to assist Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) with an attack on a bride-to-be.
Showrunner David Graziano and executive producer Julie Martin have now teased Rollins will appear in several episodes throughout season 26 as she returns in a recurring role.
“Rollins is definitely coming back to the show,” Julie confirmed.
And David added: “She’s coming as a guest star, and she’s going to make a bunch of appearances throughout the season. We’re really happy about it.”
Despite the good news, viewers are still disappointed with the show’s decision to axe the star from her main role, with some even demanding Rollins should return permanently.
“She’s not returning. She’s returning as a guest star, which is different than series regular,” one adamant viewer said on X (formerly Twitter).
“Can’t they just admit they messed up? It’s been a revolving door since she left. Bring her back full time.”
And another passionate fan replied: “YES! Bring Kelli back FULL TiME!!”
David and Julie didn’t confirm how many episodes Rollins will appear in next season, but it sounds as if it may be substantially more than the two appearances she made in season 25.
Explaining her role in season 25, David revealed to TVLine that she’ll now be working with the New York Police Department’s Intelligence Unit.
“[It’s] very different from the Intelligence Unit anywhere else,” he said. “Because the Intelligence Unit in New York has cops stationed in almost every country in the world.
“And so, Rollins is going to be traveling a lot as part of that job.”
Plus, the producer teased: “We’ll see Carisi and his daughter get involved in something together that they’ll kind of have to work their way out of.”
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit season 26 premieres Thursday, October 3 on NBC.
