‘Law & Order: SVU’s Mariska Hargitay Celebrates Kelli Giddish’s Return: ‘It Feels Like Home With Her’

Law & Order: SVU is getting a major part of the show back for its 27th season: Kelli Giddish is returning as a series regular! And as happy as we are to be getting Sergeant Amanda Rollins back the screen full-time, Mariska Hargitay (who plays Captain Olivia Benson) may be even more thrilled.

“It is so purely joyful to me. She is a formidable actress and an incredibly creative partner and has been such a joy and huge part of the fabric of SVU. I love her, and I love acting with her and co-creating with her, and it feels like home with her,” Hargitay told Deadline while discussing her new documentary My Mom Jayne about her mother Jayne Mansfield (premiering on HBO and HBO Max on June 27). “So, I am ecstatic about her return.”

Giddish exited as a series regular in Season 24 and has recurred since, with a heavier presence in Season 26. It was in that most current season that Rollins went from teaching at a college (where she was so bored) to being upped to sergeant in the NYPD’s Intelligence division, work that she’s very much enjoyed.

“Rollins loves her new job. She says it’s like getting to eavesdrop on the whole world. And I feel like she’s really happy, and it’s fun to play that version of Rollins,” Giddish told TV Insider in September 2024 ahead of her first Season 26 episode in October.

But with her back full-time, it seems likely that she’ll be back at SVU, which is going to be losing two detectives, with Octavio Pisano (Velasco) and Juliana Aidén Martinez (Silva) out as series regulars. The Season 26 finale didn’t write out either, though it did promote Velasco to detective second grade. Could Benson turn to her friend to fill gaps in the squad and that’s what brings her back?

Law & Order: SVU, Season 27 Premiere, Fall 2025, Thursdays, 9/8c, NBC