Mariska Hargitay fought to keep Kelli Giddish on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Mariska Hargitay didn't agree with booting Kelli Giddish from Law & Order: SVU, but she "didn't have enough" say
Aux News Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay may be one of the most powerful women in television, as evidenced by her being featured in Variety’s “Power of Women” issue, but her power only goes so far. She’s top of the call sheet and an executive producer on Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, but even she couldn’t prevent Kelli Giddish’s character from being written off the long-running procedural. “Kelli is my favorite actor to work with,” Hargitay tells Variety of her co-star’s exit. “Kelli is my heart. It’s a sore subject. I have a lot of say on the show, but I didn’t have enough there.”
Detective Amanda Rollins was written off the series last year after a whopping 12 seasons, reportedly to keep the show “current.” (SVU is currently airing its 25th season.) Hargitay claims she fought to keep Giddish on, and is trying to get her to return next season. “I don’t like not being listened to, especially when I’m right,” she says. “That relationship was one of the most powerful relationships in television because you saw these two badass women, so flawed and so there for each other.”
Another aspect of SVU that Hargitay disagreed with? The handling of Detective Olivia Benson’s will-they-won’t-they romance with her one time partner, Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). The pair have “undeniable” chemistry, but an almost-kiss teased in promos for a recent episode never materialized. “To be honest with you, Chris and I thought it should go one way and the powers that be didn’t, so it got changed at the last minute, that near kiss,” Hargitay reveals. “Obviously Dick [Wolf] gets final say. It’s his show and he didn’t want that.”
Hargitay has an “excellent” relationship with Wolf, the creator of the Law & Order franchise and executive producer of an entire television empire. Still, it’s been “ugly at times,” including “some gnarly negotiations.” But the pair are “extremely close, like family,” and Hargitay credits Wolf with making her “stronger.” Plus, the door is still open for more from Benson and Stabler, a duo Hargitay sees as “irrevocably locked.” She says, “We want to hold the tension and do what’s right and truthful for both characters.”
15 Comments
Well, since they show has probably already run well past its prime and jumped the shark several times, yet survives, it might not make a difference. But that being said, there have been a LOT of shows that suffered after their main “will-they-won’t-they” stars actually got together.Even if Meloni technically isn’t on the show, he’s back in the L&O universe.
yeah, and frankly i find it refreshing when we can have male/female partners on shows and not get them all loved up on each other. I remember being so disappointed then Pacey and Olivia ended up together on Fringe because i like the idea of platonic friendships so much
They sure as heck give off the vibes that they always want to be more that friends though—-back in the early days, there was SEVERE sexual tension, even when Stabler was (relatively happily) married and Benson was buddies with his wife.
Mrs. F. always called him Pacey on that show too.
I’ve always hated it when the characters finally got together. Then comes the baby. The show always goes downhill once kids are involved.
Thinking about the “will-they-won’t-they” trope always reminds me of something I once saw in relation to one of my older relatives. This may sound mean, but that’s not my intention; it’s more of a fond, fuzzy memory now.I remember as a teen being bored and looking through small-sized, shitty-papered TV Guides. On one of the pages, there was a picture of Tony and Angela from Who’s the Boss? with the caption being something like “What do you want to see happen with Tony and Angela?” with an address to mail your thoughts to. She had written (but never mailed, obviously) that she “wanted to see them get together, but have it not happen at the end.” Even as a teen, I was tired of the whole WTWT thing on any show I saw it in, and so I was astonished to see that some people, indeed, liked the toddler rollercoaster of emotion that is the WTWT trope.
That’s ok; Tony saw the goods in that infamous scene well before the ending, lol.
Is this because she’s a lesbian?
Greatest. Character. Write-Off. Ever.
To which the in-show response was exactly the same as the viewing audience’s:“What??”
I genuinely wish, when she got written off of “Angel,” she’d used the same line.
I always liked the implication that when she was a cop in Atlanta she was a drunken hot mess. So yes, more Giddish please.
Oy vey!Oh, you said “Giddish.”
How does Hargitay not have the pull? without her and Ice-T the show would be completely done for.
The rumor is that Kelli Giddish had year-over-year bonuses and raises (like most actors do) and they dropped her to save money. I doubt Hargitay was so supportive as to over to take less salary or threaten to leave the show.