Law & Order: SVU Just Paved The Way For Amanda Rollins’ Return (& That’s Why NBC Needs To Renew It For Season 27)

Law & Order: SVU just cleared the path for Rollins to return full-time to the procedural, which is a strong reason for NBC to renew it for season 27. Law & Order: SVU is NBC’s longest-running scripted show, with 26 years under its belt. However, there was mass disappointment when Rollins was written out in the middle of Law & Order: SVU season 24, and that sentiment was repeated when she was not made part of Benson’s Law & Order: SVU season 26 team. Instead, Rollins was given a recurring role as a member of the Intelligence Unit.

Rollins was misused in most of her guest appearances during Law & Order: SVU season 26. Although her new job gave her strong storyline possibilities, she was not often depicted working. Instead, she occasionally joined Benson in the SVU squad room, but more often, her role was to support Carisi during his season-long trauma arc. However, new casting news suggests the perfect opportunity for Rollins to return to Benson’s team full-time in season 27, presuming the procedural is renewed.

Benson’s Team Is About To Lose Members In Law & Order: SVU

Her Squad Will Be Short-Staffed Again

Benson enjoyed a full team in Law & Order: SVU season 26, but that may not be the case in season 27. Two members of the main cast are leaving ahead of the new season, leaving Benson short-staffed again — Joe Velasco (Octavio Pisano) and Kate Silva (Juliana Aidén Martinez). While there hasn’t been any official explanation of how these characters will exit, it’s likely that one or both of them will take promotions that take them elsewhere in the NYPD.

Velasco’s exit is more of a surprise than Silva’s, as he has been with the procedural for three years. Silva was underdeveloped, and Law & Order: SVU has had a pattern of hiring female detectives who leave by the end of the season since Rollins’ exit. Thus, it was expected that Silva would leave, though it’s disappointing that yet another new character is exiting so soon after arrival.

Rollins Is Needed On Benson’s Team If Law & Order: SVU Gets Renewed For Season 27

Replacing Her Is Not Working

It’s clear that replacing Rollins is not working. Every female detective who has been hired to take her place in the squad room has not worked out, some lasting less than a full season. Thus, it makes more sense for Benson to rehire Rollins than to try to make yet another female detective work. Benson and Rollins’ dynamic is already familiar to the audience, eliminating the need to adjust to a new character, and Rollins is familiar with the job and proved her suitability for it a long time ago.

Law & Order: SVU season 27 could try to introduce yet another female detective, but it’s an unnecessary risk when Rollins is available. It becomes progressively more difficult to invest time and energy in new characters when they continually disappear, and most of these characters don’t get the screen time they deserve before they are written out. Thus, the most logical thing would be to stop trying to find a new female detective that works and instead reinstate Rollins to her former position in Benson’s team.

Why Rollins Must Return To Manhattan SVU Full Time

Cameo Appearances Don’t Do The Character Justice

Rollins’ guest appearances didn’t do the character any favors. Most of the time, Rollins’ appearances were part of a disturbing Law & Order: SVU trend in which other characters were sidelined to focus exclusively on Carisi’s trauma. This habit inadvertently sent the message that Rollins’ only value was as Carisi’s wife, which contradicted the strong pro-feminist messaging that has been part of the SVU brand since the show began.

Making Rollins a full-time member of Benson’s team again would allow her to have the full stories she deserves. Additionally, it would put a stop to the constant rotation of new female detectives. Reinstating Rollins would help restore audience trust in the procedural as well as bring a popular character back to the series. This is the best decision that Law & Order: SVU could make ahead of season 27.