Law & Order: SVU Confirms When Kelli Giddish’s Final Episode Airs on NBC

NBC has set the date for Kelli Giddish’s final episode of Law & Order: SVU. According to The Wrap, Giddish’s final episode will air on December 8th. Giddish has played Detective Amanda Rollins on the long-running series since 2011. Per the report, Giddish will also be appearing in an upcoming episode of another Law & Order franchise series, Law & Order: Organized Crime. The season premiere of Law & Order: SVU saw Rollins shot in the stomach while trying to protect a sex trafficking victim and while she’s recovered and returned to work, she’s been having some issues since the incident.

In August, Giddish took to Instagram to announce her departure from the series, writing, “I wanted to address the chatter I’ve seen on line 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 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, 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. 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.”

Giddish’s Rollins has long been a fan-favorite character and the announcement of her departure has received substantial backlash, with some reports indicating that the exit was not Giddish’s choice, nor a decision made by new SVU showrunner David Graziano. Graziano has also spoken out about the decision, calling it “more complex” than it appears, while also praising Giddish as one of the “finest industry professionals”.

“You might take a moment to entertain the idea that things are more complex than they appear in a world of emojis and tweets,” Graziano write. “All I’ll say is Kelli has handled this with the most incredibly classy comportment. She is, without a doubt, one of the finest industry professionals I’ve come across in my 24 years of writing television. I’m saddened by her looming exit. It’ll be my lucky day if I ever get to write for her again.”

Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC. Giddish’s last episode will air on December 8th.