Mariska Hargitay and Kelli Giddish Reunite on 'Law & Order: SVU' Set: 'Me and My Girl'
Mariska Hargitay could not be more excited about Kelli Giddish's return to Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, the 60-year-old actress shared a photo of her and her longtime pal smiling as they filmed a new episode of the long-running NBC drama. The stars -- who play Captain Olivia Benson and Detective Amanda Rollins, respectively -- are shown shooting outside a brownstone in New York City for season 25.
"#Reunited and it feels so good! #MeAndMyGirl," Hargitay captioned the photo. She also added "#FierceFriendship" and "#SVU25" to the post.
The photo marks another return to the television series for Giddish, 43, who exited the show after 12 years back in 2022. Since her departure from the role -- explained in the series as Rollins taking a job as a professor of criminology at Fordham University -- Giddish has returned to SVU for several episodes, including the season 24 finale.
In an emotional Instagram post from August 2022, Giddish addressed rumors that she was leaving the series, confirming the news and thanking the fans for their commitment to her character and her storyline for a dozen years.
"Playing Rollins has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life," she penned at the time. "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."
Around that time, Hargitay also addressed Giddish leaving the SVU team, saying she would miss her "girl" and that she and her fellow actress managed to create a beautiful relationship in their more than a decade together on set.
"Oh god, Kelli. I love Kelli, she's my girl," Hargitay told ET. "She is one of my favorite actors that I've ever worked with and we got to build something really beautiful together and really earned together because our characters had quite a journey. It wasn't so easy at the beginning and then we just fell into this beautiful safety, trust."
Following the release of her final episode in December 2022, the actress spoke with ET and said that she had nothing but love for her Law and Order: Special Victims Unit family and that she was always open to returning.
"What's really cool about being on SVU is that Dick Wolf created this universe that it's there no matter what and the audience knows and loves all of our characters," Giddish said. "So, I think if I popped up somewhere in the future, I think they'd be happy to see me."
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit airs Thursdays at 9 p.m.
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