Fans should get prepared to say goodbye to Amanda Rollins. As the 24th season of Law & Order: SVU lands September 22nd, it will be Kelli Giddish‘s last, although it’s unclear when exactly her character will bow out. According to The Wrap, Giddish clarified that she was leaving the show in a statement to address some internet rumors.
“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. 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,” Giddish said. She went on to thank Dick Wolf, her castmates, and the crew.
The latest season is part of an ambitious launch of the enduring cop procedural’s extended universe. The flagship show, SVU, and Organized Crime are returning with a 3-hour cross-over event involving all the major teams. It’s a gutsy move, and now we know the season will also include a farewell to a mainstay. Giddish’s exit leaves a Rollins-shaped hole in the show. If Christopher Meloni comes back full time because she’s leaving, it will prove that history rhymes. Fortunately for fans, Ice-T will never, ever leave.
(via The Wrap)