Kelli Giddish joinedSVUin 2011 as Bensons partner.
She departs beloved in her own right.
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partnership between Benson and Stabler was a primary source of fuel for theSVUfandom.
Almost 12 years later, Giddishs character exits the series a beloved figure.
Its more fun to play, she says, and it made her ending feel earned.
Its not like,Look at the blonde girl who got married, Giddish said.
People were really happy for her.
She also insists that Rollinss exit from the show is something she welcomes.
This was the right time to let her have a denouement into finding joy.
What does it feel like to know you wont have this character in your life anymore?
Its so unlike a film, where its just a brief moment in time.
This is something I put work in day in and day out.
And my life experiences inform Rollinss.
I became a mother twice over on the show.
I got married, I got divorced, I got married again.
I found joy and contentment.
My personal life reflects what Rollins is going through.
Im excited about being turned out into this wild, new landscape.
When I got onSVU, Netflix was peddling DVDs, you know?
There are a bunch of streamers out there now.
I love to work.
And I love the process of creating something new, which I cant wait to do next.
The audience Im theirs.
I met him when I was 18 and doing playwriting conferences, coming from the theater world.
We were riffing about the character and what she could be before the show even started filming.
We had talked about this gambling addiction you never see a woman with that kind of issue.
Instead of slapping it on her, it kind of creeped into her character.
It gave me something to wrestle with.
Weve learned so much about who Rollins is and where she comes from over these 12 years.
Well, she was assaulted.
You dive into an episode where you see the ramifications of that.
It became organic out of the questions you would ask:Where is her dad?
Some came from the writers room, but some came from you?It was always a great marriage.
My personal life choices influenced them heavily.
Id come in and say, Okay, guys, Im pregnant!
So whatever you were thinking for this season …
They couldve gone the route where you spend a few months standing behind filing cabinets, I guess.Right!
Its a time for possibility.
Why?Because its more fun to play with!
Because of the longevity of this character.
Its not that Im trying to annoy the fans or anything, but people arent perfect.
People make bad decisions, then they crawl their way out and make it better for themselves.
Thats storytelling: somebody overcoming something.
That makes sense in terms of playing a more interesting character, butSVUfans are so invested.
Was it hard on the reception side?
People have very strong emotions about these characters.Yes, they do.
But look how it turns out.
The triumphs are really earned.
Rollins and Carisi got married.
Look at the intimacy.
Look at this rare happy ending this character got.
People were really happy for her.
How did that conversation go?It came from an organic place in the characters story line.
And I think that was reflected beautifully in this half of the season.
She starts off being shot with this gun in her face.
Shes thinking,Wait, what am I doing here?
I dont need this anymore.
That really resonated with me personally.
I just celebrated my one-year anniversary last year.
I have two boys that are 7 and 4.
I get to chaperone their trips at school this week.
Its not unheard of for this franchise to stage an exit by dramatically killing off a character.
There was a time to show that in stark contrast to the brassy, balls-out character shes always been.
Let it be me.
You know what I mean?
Ill break the rules.
Lets show the growth.
Like maybe she goes undercover or something.But that didnt feel right.
It was not what was resonating right now.
I think it went the right way.
And it does leave the door open for her to return.Sure.
And when you have someone like Mariska Hargitay onscreen for 24 years, its going to make a difference.
Shes a legacy in her own right.
Its about the worst things people do to each other.
People say, off the cuff, I think rape is worse than murder.
Those are the things were tackling.
The worst things people can do to each other and the most inexplicable.
Then it catches the bad guy.
Theres something so satisfying about that for the audience because the stakes are so high.
Your tenure onSVUoverlapped with a period of newly public interest in cop shows and their role in American life.
Is this how I should do it?
Its a huge world; that is my part in it.
And such a cool kid.
Susie Essman, Ed Asner like, what are you talking about?
Its a crazy ecosystem.
And when I got there, I got to work with Richard Belzer.
What did he say?He was like,Damn right, Im Big Dick Belzer.
I was like,I love this job.
Like, slippers are really nice to have.
I wear them more than anything else.
Theres such a demand for content.
Little ideas can turn into characters that can turn into something else.
Im interested in going back to those small ideas that dont come from anybody elses mind but mine.
And Im still in celebratory mode and in awe of the work we did this year.
Not only for the last 12 years but this year.
To write a story, to pause the characters story in this way Im very proud of it.
