It’s been a few weeks since Kelli Giddish exited Law and Order: SVU season 24, and fans are curious to see how Benson (Mariska Hargitay) will fare without Rollins. It looks like the NBC series has a plan intact, because a major actor is about to join the cast.
In a recent announcement from Variety, news broke that longtime TV actor Bradley Whitford is set to guest star in an upcoming Thursday night episode, airing February 23. This would mark the second time The Handmaid’s Tale actor appears on the procedural drama, as fans may recognize him for portraying a TV producer in a season 15 episode from May 2014.
Unlike his first time guest-starring on Law and Order: SVU, the outlet shared that Bradley will portray a professor who has early on-set dementia and confesses to a murder. While there aren’t too many details about how the compelling storyline will unfold, TV Insider also noted that The West Wing alum will appear in the same episode that Mariska is directing.
Despite the big news being kept on the down low, fans quickly caught wind of the actor’s upcoming guest spot on Law and Order: SVU. They immediately began sharing their excitement on Instagram.
“Wow that sounds like a good one. I’m gonna have to watch it. ❤️,” one person wrote. “He’s the best,” a different user noted. “❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👏👏👏👏👏👏👏,” another added.
Although the news of Bradley joining the cast is exciting, longtime viewers still have questions about whether Kelli will return at some point on the NBC series. While it seems unlikely for the moment, she still has nothing but good things to say about the time she spent on Law and Order: SVU.
“I started playing her in my late 20s, so I’ve played her in three decades of my life … This is a show unlike any other,” she told Variety in December 2022. “Shows don’t last 12 years, much less getting to play a character. With playing someone as multi-faceted as Rollins, I got to play all kinds of different things — down and out, on top, joyful, doubtful, scared, triumphant. I got to do the gambit.”
Editorial Assistant
As the entertainment and news editorial assistant for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.