Law & Order: SVU Shocker: Kelli Giddish Out as Rollins After 12 Seasons

This fall on Law & Order: SVU there will be a major disturbance on the force.

After more than a decade on the job, Kelli Giddish will be turning in her badge as Det. Amanda Rollins during Season 24. The exact timing of her exit remains fuzzy but sources say her final episode will air during the first half of the season.

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Giddish confirmed the news in a statement to TVLine.

“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,” the actress said. “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.

“I want to thank Dick Wolf, Mariska Hargitay, Warren Leight, Peter Jankowski, NBC, Universal Television, all of my co-stars, every single member on the crew and all the writers here for our incredible work together these last 12 years,” Giddish continued. “I’m so excited to take all the things I have learned in my time on SVU and put them toward everything that’s next to come.”

NBC declined to comment for this story, but new SVU showrunner David Graziano had a lot say on the matter (read his statement here.)

NBC also is not commenting on how Giddish will be written out, but an SVU insider reveals that Rollins will experience a traumatic event early into Season 24 — although it’s unclear if the incident sets the stage for her ouster. One thing is certain: Her absence will have major repercussions for Peter Scanavino’s Carisi, with whom Rollins is tethered to romantically.

As we were first to report, SVU will kick off Season 24 on Thursday, Sept. 22 via an unprecedented three-show crossover with the recently revived mothership series and fellow spinoff Organized Crime.

Giddish joined SVU at the start of Season 13 back in 2011 alongside fellow newbie Danny Pino (who left at the end of Season 16). The pair were brought in to fill the void left by the sudden departure of Chris Meloni.

Giddish’s exit is one of a handful of casting changes shaking up the Law & Order universe this fall. Scroll down to review who’s in and who’s out on Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime. 

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