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Who’s Left Chicago P.D.? The Shocking Reasons These One Chicago Characters Were Written Off
Wednesday, May 17th, 2023
We’ve said goodbye to many of our favorites on Chicago P.D. over the last decade, from Jay Halstead and Erin Lindsay to Antonio Dawson. Keep reading to learn about everyone who’s left Chicago P.D. since Season 1 and what happened.
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Chicago P.D. is NBC’s drama series, co-created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead, that follows the personal and professional lives of patrol officers and Intelligence Unit detectives at the Chicago Police Department’s fictional 21st District. Chicago P.D., which is wrapping up its 10th season, is the first spinoff of Chicago Fire before Chicago Med and Chicago Justice. In April 2023, the procedural was renewed for Season 11 for the 2023-2024 year, according to our sister site Variety.
The show saw a huge exit in Season 10 with the departure of Jesse Lee Soffer, who played detective Jay Halstead for all 10 seasons of Chicago P.D. Soffer told Variety in 2023 that he left the show because he wanted “more” as an actor. “I’ve thought so hard about how to answer this question — and there’s no good answer. Except I was ready for more,” Soffer explained. Although Soffer’s exit was amicable between him and the show’s creators, some of the other cast departures on Chicago P.D. weren’t so much.
For all of the Chicago P.D. cast exits and an explanation about why each character left the show, check out the gallery below.
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<p>In 2024, it will mark 10 years since the first season of <em>Chicago P.D.</em> aired. As the first spinoff of <em>Chicago Fire</em>, we’ve seen plenty of cast members come and go on the popular Dick Wolf police procedural. Below, we’re sharing the most shocking cast departures on <em>Chicago P.D.</em> over the past decade, including every major cast member who exited since Season 1. See who’s left <em>Chicago P.D.</em> – and most importantly – learn why each actor left the show. (Some of their reasons may surprise you.)</p>
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<p>The most recent cast exit on <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/soaps/news/665387/jay-halstead-leave-chicago-pd/"><em>Chicago P.D</em>. was Jesse Lee Soffer</a>, who left the procedural after 10 seasons playing Detective Jay Halstead. In an interview with <a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/why-did-jesse-lee-soffer-leave-chicago-p-d-interview-1235529696/"><em>Variety</em></a> in 2023, Soffer told our sister site that he left the series because he wanted “more” as an actor. “I’ve thought so hard about how to answer this question — and there’s no good answer. Except I was ready for more,” Soffer responded. “Eventually, you know the character so well, there’s not much that can shift or transform.” Soffer said that he approached the creators in Season 9 informing them of his desire to leave. He agreed to return for three episodes in Season 10 to conclude Halstead’s story, and he also requested that he direct an episode. “I hadn’t really brought it up to anyone, but it was something I was willing to fight for,” Soffer explained.</p> <p>The actor also confirmed to the publication that he’s open to returning to <em>Chicago P.D.</em> for guest appearances in future seasons. “Never say never. I feel so bad for the fans that are like, ‘Is he going to come back?’ ‘What’s he going to do?’ ‘What’s going on with him and Hailey?’” he explained. “I like to think — and I hope the fans think this too — that he’s just in another country right now, doing what he does best and making the world a safer place. In a family, sometimes somebody moves away or goes to college somewhere else. I still love it. I still love the fans. And I still love Halstead. Halstead’s always going to be in my blood. That’s never going to change.”</p>
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<p>Jon Seda, who played detective Antonio Dawson, left <em>Chicago P.D.</em> in Season 6. We first met Antonio in <em>Chicago Fire</em> as Gabby Dawson (Monica Raymund)’s brother, and he often appeared in crossover episodes between the One Chicago shows. He even left <em>P.D.</em> in Season 4 to lead yet another spinoff, <em>Chicago Justice, </em>but the show was canceled after one season. <a href="https://deadline.com/2019/04/chicago-jon-seda-colin-donnell-norma-kuhling-exit-chicago-pd-chicago-med-chicago-fire-nbc-1202599095/"><em>Deadline</em></a> reported in April 2019 that Seda’s departure stemmed from creative reasons related to the characters’ story evolution. “I hear the feeling was that Seda’s character on <em>Chicago P.D.</em> had played out, leading to the actor’s departure,” <em>Deadline</em> said. “But he is very well-liked by the producers, and it is possible for him to wind up in another Dick Wolf show down the road.”</p> <p>After his character’s exit was announced, Seda paid tribute to his character, Antonio Dawson, in a sweet <a href="https://twitter.com/JonSeda/status/1119688933384699904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1119688933384699904%7Ctwgr%5Eb30d22695edaac94563d99f51921da1c464baf94%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2019%2F04%2Fjon-seda-reaction-chicago-p-d-exit-det-antonio-dawson-1202599270%2F">Twitter</a> post thanking his devoted fans. “It’s been an honor portraying Det. Antonio Dawson in the #OneChicago world. To my cast #Family, I’ll always treasure the time and stories we shared. To all you #chihards out there, THANK YOU for being the best of fans! We’ll Always have CHICAGO,” the tweet said.</p>
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<p>As Voight’s right hand, Olinsky (played by Elias Koteas) was an integral part of the intelligence unit. But in the show’s fifth season, his character was stabbed and killed. In an interview with <em><a href="https://tvline.com/2018/05/09/chicago-pd-recap-season-5-finale-alvin-olinsky-dies/">TV Line </a></em>in May 2018, <em>Chicago P.D.</em> showrunner Rick Eid said that the decision to kill off Olinsky was a creative one. “From a creative perspective, it was a decision that evolved organically from the ongoing storyline between Voight and Woods. The writers and I kept coming back to this idea that Voight’s decision to kill Bingham should cost him something,” Ed told our sister site. “Over time, we landed on the notion that Olinsky should be the person to pay for Voight’s sin because Voight admired and loved him so much.”</p> <p>Rick said that it was challenging to kill off Elias, and the actor was on good terms with the creative forces behind the show. “Elias is a terrific actor and a good person. He’s also been an important part of the show since the very beginning. So this part of the process was really challenging,” Rick added.</p>
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<p>In Season 4, Sophia Bush left <em>Chicago P.D.</em> on her own accord but later said that she experienced abuse in the workplace, which was the catalyst for her decision to leave. “I quit because, what I’ve learned is I’ve been so programmed to be a good girl and to be a work horse and be a tugboat that I have always prioritized tugging the ship for the crew, for the show, for the group, ahead of my own health. The reality was that my body was, like, falling apart, because I was really, really unhappy,” she said on Dax Shepard’s <a href="https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/sophia-bush"><em>Armchair Expert</em></a> podcast in December 2018. She then talked in-depth about the abuse she experienced on set. “When someone assaults you in a roomful of people, and everyone literally looks away… and you’re the one woman in the room, and every man who’s twice your size doesn’t do something, you go, ‘Oh, that wasn’t worth defending? I’m not worth defending?’” she added.</p> <p>Her costar, Jason Beghe, was investigated for “inappropriate behavior” and sexual harassment by NBC and Wolf Entertainment in 2016. The actor faced several complaints from members of the cast and crew, according to <em><a href="https://deadline.com/2017/11/jason-beghe-chicago-pd-sophia-bush-sexual-harassment-allegations-nbc-investigation-1202213264/">Deadline</a>.</em> “When it was brought to our attention that there were concerns about inappropriate behavior on set, we promptly began an investigation in partnership with Human Resources and all parties involved,” said the network, Universal Television and Wolf Entertainment, in a statement to <em>Deadline.</em> “As a result of the investigation, we have already taken action, and it is a situation we continue to monitor very closely to ensure all of our employees feel safe and supported.”</p>
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<p>In Season 3, another shocking <em>Chicago P.D. </em>exit was that of Brian Geraghty, who portrayed Sean Roman – Burgess’ partner. Before the Season 3 finale, Roman was shot and was left seriously injured. He had two choices: be transferred to less active duty or leave the police force with three-quarters pay. In the finale, he decided to leave the police force for good and move from Chicago to San Diego. <a href="https://tvline.com/2016/05/25/chicago-pd-brian-geraghty-leaving-season-4-sean-roman/"><em>TV Line</em></a> reported in May 2016 that Geraghty would not be returning to Season 4 of <em>Chicago P.D.</em> as a series regular. It turns out that Geraghty signed a year-to-year contract, rather than a seven-year contract. “When we wanted to do this Roman character, [executive producer] Dick [Wolf] in particular really wanted Brian Geraghty” for the role, Matt Olmstead, the executive producer, explained. “[Geraghty] had a lot of choices, and we courted him and pitched him what the show could be, and we were crossing our fingers that we’d get him. He is the most level-headed, decent human being you’re going to encounter, and he’s upfront. He was like, ‘I don’t know if I can commit to a seven-year contract. This sounds great, but I’ve got to take it year by year,’ which Dick doesn’t do very often. But the deal was made.”</p> <p> </p> <p>So, when Olmstead checked in with Geraghty at the midseason point this year, the actor expressed his desire to pursue other projects. The year prior, he was an executive producer on the 2015 film <em>The Stanford Prison Experiment</em>. “He’s also a producer and wants to get stuff off the ground that he’s been working on and wanted to give us a heads-up and include us in the conversation,” Olmstead said. “It was the most civil, level-headed, mutual fan-fest agreement and departure that I’ve ever been a part of, because he was just very decent about it.”</p>
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