Spoilers ahead for Episode 10 of Chicago P.D. Season 12, called "Zoe."
Chicago P.D. returned in the 2025 TV schedule after taking a week off, but the One Chicago new episode delay was worth the wait with Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) taking the spotlight for a particularly heart-wrenching case coupled with the unexpected arrival of his dad (Jack Coleman). With the news that Bob Ruzek is suffering from late stage Alzheimer's, Ruzek made a choice that means a lot for Burgess and Makayla as well as his own life. Flueger spoke with CinemaBlend about Coleman's return... and may have hinted that Bob isn't the only P.D. character who could be coming back after several seasons absent.
Ruzek And The Return Of His Dad
Bob showed up at the precinct in "Zoe" without calling his son first, and Adam was happy to see his father, but the timing couldn't have been worse for an impromptu visit from Florida. The Intelligence Unit officer had made first contact with a little girl who believed her name was Zoe, but quickly uncovered that she'd been surrounded by murder while being held by a man who wasn't her father for as long as she could remember. It was one of the more gruesome cases of Season 12 so far and would have required all hands on deck, but either Adam or Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) had to be on hand with his dad.
Something was clearly wrong with Bob, though, as he lost track of cases and dates while trying to sell that everything was fine, and was struggling to shave without realizing that he'd left the safety cap on. He finally admitted to Adam that he had Alzheimer's that was at a much later stage than he initially claimed, and he planned to move into a facility in Florida in a month. His son wouldn't take that for an answer, and insisted that Bob move back to Chicago so that he could take care of him.
Despite Bob warning Adam that it was going to get very bad and Adam seemingly not running it by Kim before making the offer/demand, they agreed that he'd come back to the Windy City, and "Zoe" won't be Jack Coleman's only appearance in Season 12. So, when I spoke with Patrick John Flueger, I asked what it was like for him to work with Coleman again. After all, Ruzek's dad hadn't appeared on P.D. since Season 8 back in 2021, and he said:
It was easy. Jack's one of those guys you kind of pick up where you left off. He's an easy man to know. He's such a sweet guy. He's very well-liked on our set, so it was just kind of a homecoming. But the storyline that he's telling, I can't imagine it being done in a better way. He just brought so much to the table. But he and I have a real nice shorthand, having worked together for such a long time, and it is definitely kind of a mentor-mentee situation with him.
Adam and Bob haven't always had the best relationship, with a lot of complicated history that hasn't been explored on screen just yet. That may change as Season 12 continues, whether it's via the two men reminiscing before Bob loses more of his memories or Adam opening up about their past. Adam and Kim have been there for each other all season, so hopefully his invitation to his father won't come between them. I'm optimistic after some comments from the showrunner, though! Flueger went on:
I don't want to call it father-son. I'm just saying that he comes in, and I look up to him a lot. I appreciate how he engages with his job, and so it was really easy in this storyline that we're telling… It was really nice picking back up where we left off, he and I. And he'll be back again. We'll see him again this season.
Before I spoke with Flueger about the latest big episode for Ruzek, I looked back at Jack Coleman's earlier appearances of Chicago P.D. and was surprised to find that he'd only appeared in three episodes before "Zoe." (All three are available streaming with a Peacock subscription now.)
Bob's long absence wasn't surprising after father and son had a falling out back in Season 8, but amends were clearly made off screen. I noted to Flueger that Coleman has a large presence on the show despite only appearing in a few earlier episodes, and he agreed:
You're right – when he lands, when he shows up, it makes a mark. I agree. He has such a presence, I think that, again, our relationship, it's really good casting. I actually was bummed that I didn't get a friend of mine in front of the casting director back in the day to play my father. And in hindsight, I'm so glad, because I can't imagine anybody else playing the role, even though this guy would have been great. Jack has just got this goodness, so when you're talking about the aspects of Bob's character that come up a little short, his issues with gambling, maybe he drinks a little too much here and there. When he comes up short, you don't dislike him for it, and he's just a human that's just doing his best.
So, based on Patrick John Flueger's comments, we know for certain that Jack Coleman will be back as Bob Ruzek in future episodes of Season 12, which makes sense with how "Zoe" ended. But Flueger had more to say about his character at this point in the season, and I can't help but wonder: is he hinting that another familiar face is coming back?
Is Chicago P.D. Bringing Back Another Member Of The Ruzek Family?
It has been a long time since Chicago P.D. featured any members of Adam's family other than future wife Kim, daughter Makayla, and now dad Bob, but some further comments from Patrick John Flueger reminded me of a character who was key to a Season 5 story without actually appearing more than once. Could Kate Ruzek make a comeback?
Well, Flueger didn't address the possibility specifically, but he certainly hasn't forgotten that Adam isn't Bob's only child, and it's not often that anybody really alludes to his sister. He said:
When they call him Disco Bob, that's not a nice thing. It's almost like him taking back that word, as communities do. They take back the word that's meant to be insulting. And so he took Disco Bob, he made it his own. Well, Disco Bob wasn't a bad cop. I think he just wanted to raise his kids right, and he was doing it by himself, and he maybe didn't turn out to be the cop that he thought he wanted to be, but he was a good dad, even if he dropped the ball here and there. Who doesn't? I just think that he makes a splash, because you can tell, even if he's doing things, that you're like, 'Ah, Bob,' and you roll your eyes, you just like him because he's likable because he doesn't mean any harm. Jack's a good man, and I think he's made Bob a good man.
Am I reading too much into Flueger mentioning "kids" instead of "kid" when discussing the return of Jack Coleman as Bob? Perhaps, but the actor also specifically mentioned Adam's sister in response to me bringing up how he has really embraced fatherhood. He said:
I just think he gets along with kids quite well, again, life imitating art. I just think he just gets it. His sister has her son. I think he's always been very close to this guy. I think that just brings him joy. He's a large child in his own right. I think that having his own child was the only thing that maybe made him grow up a little bit.
Kate Ruzek and her son specifically being mentioned? Patrick John Flueger suggesting that Adam is "very close" to his nephew off-screen? Bob coming back with a devastating disease that surely would bring family together? If you ask me, that suggests that Kate and young Sam (or not-so-young Sam after how much time has passed) will show up for the first time in Season 5, perhaps with Elise Randall and Brady Sherman reprising their roles.
Of course, they only appeared in one episode of Chicago P.D., but their existence caused complications for Ruzek at the CPD throughout Season 5. He was blackmailed by Denny Woods (Mykelti Williamson) when Voight's former partner discovered that Adam had pulled strings to help his sister avoid a DUI charge that would have cost her custody of her son. A lot has changed since Season 5, and it's nice to imagine Burzek spending time with his sister off screen over the past few years.
We likely won't find out for at least a couple of weeks, though, but for a fun reason: the long-awaited One Chicago crossover is just days away! Chicago P.D. will be joining Chicago Fire and Chicago Med on January 29 for an event that one star described as "the One Chicago version of Avengers: Endgame." Be sure to tune in for an action-packed night of primetime, starting at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
