Law & Order: SVU Stunner: Kelli Giddish Departs as Rollins After 12 Seasons

Law & Order: SVU is saying goodbye to one of its most popular stars.

Per Deadline, Kelli Giddish is leaving the NBC procedural after 12 seasons.

Thankfully, the star will remain on-screen as Rollins until the middle of Law & Order: SVU Season 24, giving the creatives time to craft an endgame for the fan favorite.

“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,” she said in a statement.

“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, 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,” she 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.”

News of the exit is a shocker, but it's nice to know she won't be disappearing between seasons.

Rollins has made a big impact on SVU ever since her debut on Law & Order: SVU Season 13.

Law & Order: SVU is set to return on September 22, which kicks off as part of a three-way crossover with the original series and Organized Crime.

The crossover was announced Wednesday.

The story kicks off with a young girl shot in cold blood, with Cosgrove and Shaw setting off on a mission to find her killer.

Benson and Stabler join in on the action when they are called in for assistance, while Jack McCoy and Nolan Pierce “seek justice against an international crime ring,” according to the official description, “but complications threaten the outcome of their case.”

Wolf's other big TV universes FBI and One Chicago have previously staged three-show crossovers, but this will be the first of its kind for Law & Order, SVU, and Organized Crime.

“Nothing demonstrates the power of the Law & Order brand more than an ambitious three-hour event with a story that is truly ripped from the headlines that starts on Organized Crime, then migrates to SVU and finally the trial on Law & Order,” superproducer Dick Wolf said in a statement Wednesday when the crossover was announced.

What are your thoughts on the big exit?

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