Longtime ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Showrunner Warren Leight Reacts To Kelli Giddish Exit

deadline.com:

Longtime former Law & Order: SVU showrunner Warren Leight has shared his thoughts on the upcoming exit of cast member Kellie Giddish, who announced she would be leaving the show after 12 seasons.“Writing for Kelli Giddish was an unmitigated joy,” Leight wrote on Instagram Thursday. “She has always had perfect pitch, from first read-through to final take.

I thank her for defining Rollins. Godspeed, Kelli.”Giddish later replied to Leight’s post in an Instagram story, writing, “I never took it lightly getting to be a character you created and wrote for year after year.”Leight had served two stints as showrunner on SVU, the first at the beginning of Season 13 when the drama had just lost its co-lead Christopher Meloni.

He rejoined SVU in 2019 for the show’s record-breaking 21st season, and exited after a three-season run in May.Giddish, who plays Detective Amanda Rollins, joined the NBC drama in its 13th season and will depart in the middle of the upcoming 24th season.SVU’s new showrunner David Graziano responded Wednesday to Giddish’s announcement on her Instagram page, writing, “You might take a moment to entertain the idea that things are more complex than they appear in a world of emojis and tweets.

All I’ll say is Kelli has handled this with the most incredibly classy comportment. She is, without a doubt, one of the finest industry professionals I’ve come across in my 24 years of writing for television.