What's Rollins' new job on Law & Order: SVU Season 26? (Is she getting a spinoff?)

We finally know how Amanda Rollins is returning to Law and Order: SVU and she's not alone! Could Rollins' new job be setting up a spinoff?

When Kelli Giddish left Law and Order: SVU in late 2022, that appeared to be the end of her Amanda Rollins character. There was buzz that Giddish didn't want to leave, and it was NBC wanting a change, with the actress admitting it wasn't fully her decision. She was sent off with Rollins and Carisi getting married and Rollins accepting a job as a college professor. 

Rollins did appear in a season finale crossover with Law and Order: Organized Crime, which revealed she was pregnant with Carisi's child. Season 25 had Rollins making a return. In a later episode she'd quit her college job and missed being a cop, although Benson didn't think she was right to get back into SVU.

Now, it's confirmed that Rollins will return in the October 24 episode, "Divide and Conquer," which reveals she's now a sergeant working for the NYPD's Intelligence Unit. She joins the SVU team on a case involving "crime tourists," who come to a city, pull some robberies, and then fly back to their home nation. Rollins will bring in her new partner, Detective Vince Corgan (John Clarence Stewart). 

Speaking to TV Insider, Giddish shared the new job and how it affects Rollins. 

"Rollins loves her new job. She says it's like getting to eavesdrop on the whole world. And I feel like she's really happy, and it's fun to play that version of Rollins."

It's a bold new direction for Rollins. Could it lead to more?

Could Rollins be getting her own Law and Order spinoff?

Rollins' return in this role seems a perfect fit. Giddish explained that this new job takes Rollins out of her comfort zone. She often works with other departments but she and Carisi remain strong. 

Fans of Chicago PD already know how an Intelligence Unit works taking on more high-risk cases, although so far, it's just Rollins and Corgan working on them. Yet it's easy to imagine this could set up a new spinoff with Rollins. When asked about that, Giddish simply answered, "Do you want it to be?"

It sounds like we'll be seeing a different Rollins, one more upbeat and free of the trauma SVU could often bring. That she's now a sergeant is terrific and she and Benson can see each other as equals working together. It'll also be a good showcase of Rollins taking charge of her own unit and handling tough cases with her unique drive. 

Even if it doesn't lead to a spinoff, it's great to see Rollins back on Law and Order: SVU with a new job and direction to redeem the character's earlier exit.

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit season 26 premieres Thursday Oct. 3 at 9/8c on NBC.