Kelli Giddish returned to Law and Order: Special Victims Unit during season 26, episode 3, “Divide & Conquer”. The edition aired on October 17th and featured the reunion between Amanda Rollins and her ex-partner, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). She left the series in 2022 after marrying Dominick Carisi and appeared as a guest star on both SVU and Law and Order: Organized Crime.
Now working at the NYPD Intelligence Bureau, “Divide and Conquer” sees Rollins approach the case differently than Benson. While the latter remains focused on the victim, the sergeant’s main objective is to capture the attacker. Giddish says she was fascinated to learn about Rollins’ new position, as it opens up a whole new world for the character. The former series regular host also enjoyed working with John Clarence Stewart and shares that their on-screen partnership once had a “spark of kismet.”
Screen speech interview Giddish about the reunion with Law and Order: Special Victims Unit team, Carisi and Rollins’ home lives, and whether she would like to appear throughout the Dick Wolf universe.
Giddish says Rollins’ skills are being utilized in the NYPD Intelligence Bureau
“All the things that make Rollins, Rollins, are really used to his advantage in this.”
Screen Rant: How would you say Rollins settled into the Intelligence Bureau?
Kelli Giddish: She is now a sergeant in the NYPD Intelligence Bureau and has a new partner, Detective Corgan, played by John Clarence Stewart. You immediately saw her giving instructions to the NYPD bosses, something you would never see Detective Rollins doing.
You’ve seen her already being thrown into this new position, and her balance within that, and all the things that make Rollins, Rollins, are really used to her advantage in this. I was fascinated when the writers told me they were thinking about putting her in the Intelligence Bureau because they would tell me some of the stories they heard from the people who are actually in the Intelligence Bureau.
I’m fascinated by these stories and how much they know and the things they had to do to get information, and the fact that the NYPD has a global presence to gather information because it’s New York City. It opened up a whole other world and just seeing Rollins thrown into it felt very natural and very exciting to play.
Can you talk about Rollins’ partnership with Detective Corgan?
Kelli Giddish: I wasn’t familiar with [John Clarence Stewart’s] work, so I went into Google like everyone else and thought, “Oh, he was born in the same place as me in real life,” so we automatically had something to talk about. He’s from Georgia.
We were both born in Stone Mountain, and right away we had a real spark of kismet. It was really good to run with that. Just seeing how much is said subliminally, what kind of language they use without having to talk and that kind of stuff was really fun to play with.
Rollins and Carisi maintain a stable and healthy relationship in the Law & Order franchise
“[She] You’re able to take these risks in your career because you know you have a solid foundation at home.”
It was great to see Rollins working with the SVU characters again, but how does she feel about everything? Did this bring any nostalgia or sadness?
Kelli Giddish: I think she’s very grateful. She decided to stop teaching and the light returned to her eyes. She is so excited. She is so curious about this world and is fascinated just like me personally. She tells Benson, “You’re spying on the whole world.” She is fully involved in this new arena and loves it. Rollins has always been primarily concerned about the SVU survivor.
I think that’s still her story – she’s a survivor herself. But, I think in that you saw her goal differ a little. She’s not from the Special Victims Unit. She’s trying to make these bad guys come hell or high water. This differs slightly from Benson’s goal, which is to always take care of the survivor first. You have to see: “But we have to catch the bad guys.”
It was fun to play that dynamic between Rollins and Benson, where they’ve always been totally in sync, and now it’s like, “We have a little bit of a different goal here, and how are we going to be happy, and how are we both going to get what we need?” Because we have such a long history, Mariska [Hargitay] and me, Benson and Rollins, these conversations can be had in a really organic way.
I know fans are hoping to see more of Rollins’ marriage to Carisi and his family life. Is this something that could happen in the future?
Kelli Giddish: Of course. I hope we are placed in their home again. I think everyone likes to see Peter [Scanavino] be a father. That’s always fun. He really is the baby whisperer on set. Whenever there’s a baby, it’s like, “Give it to Peter if he’s not happy.” It’s a stable and healthy relationship now. You feel that because Rollins is now mature and able to take these risks in her career because she knows she has a solid foundation at home.
Giddish is open to playing on other Dick Wolf shows
“What an opportunity Dick Wolf and company have created for all of us to inhabit the same world where this is actually possible.”
Screen Rant: It seems like Rollins’ new work on the Intelligence Bureau could overlap with so many different shows in the Dick Wolf universe. Would you be open to being on A Chicagoo or other Law and Order series again?
Kelli Giddish: I think it would be really fun. And what an opportunity Dick Wolf and company have created for all of us to inhabit the same world where this is actually possible. When I went to the Chicago police years ago, it was a lot of fun. You’ll be on a completely different set, with a completely different cast and crew, and you’ll be able to play for a week, so I’m definitely open to all of that.
Screen Rant: Fans Are Also Rallying Together for You to Get Your Own Law and Order spin off. Is this something you would like?
Kelli Giddish: I’m really flattered to know that this is something that people have been talking about. This is very, very cute. So keep talking about it.
What story would you like to see explored for Rollins that you didn’t get to do in SVU?
Kelli Giddish: I think they did a great job [season 26, episode 3] with her being on the trail of these criminal tourists, something I had never heard of before. It’s something that doesn’t exist in the world of SVU. You can hear about this other world through Rollins and what she’s doing, and I filmed another episode that will air in November, and it’s so wild and out of the ordinary for SVU.
I think the audience will be like, “Oh my God, what’s going on?” It’s really fun to be part of it. It’s all about our characters and how they interact. All of this is filled with things the public knows about us. The writers can take a lot of risks with the episodes, and I think they do a great job with the [other one I’ve filmed].
About Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
Created by Emmy Award-winning producer Dick Wolf
Now in its 25th anniversary run on NBC, this hard-hitting and gripping series chronicles the lives of the New York Police Department’s Special Victims Unit, an elite squad of detectives that investigates crimes of sexual assault, child abuse and domestic violence.
As commander of the SVU, Captain Olivia BensonPlayed by Emmy and Golden Globe winner Mariska Hargitay, she is a veteran of the unit who has seen it all. She leads with empathy and professionalism while grappling with her difficult past as a product of rape and her responsibility as a pioneer in advocating for survivors, factors that influence how she relates to victims and perpetrators of each case. case.
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit airs Thursdays on NBC at 9 p.m. ET.