Season 12 of Chicago P.D. premiered in the 2024 TV schedule as the first without Tracy Spiridakos since Season 4 in 2017, as the actress left One Chicago back in the spring. The actress gave showrunner Gwen Sigan and the writers a full season to plan her exit, which resulted in Upton leaving the Windy City alive and on her way to being well. In a lovely gesture, Spiridakos sent "mad love" to her former show in honor of its return to NBC, and reminded me of what Sigan told us about the Intelligence Unit without Upton in Season 12.
Tracy Spiridakos Sent Her Love
It's pretty clear that there's no bad blood left behind with Tracy Spiridakos' exit from Chicago P.D.. The actress took to Instagram to post a smiling selfie and a sweet message to the people who are still involved in One Chicago's popular cop drama. Take a look:
Even though the Season 12 premiere (available streaming now with a Peacock subscription) ended in a shocker that definitely wasn't happy for Ruzek in particular, Spiridakos went out of her way to wish a "Happy Chicago PD premiere day!" to her former coworkers. They also had messages for her, with the remaining P.D. stars responding the comment section of her post:
- Marina Squerciati: "OMG I MISS YOU"
- Patrick John Flueger: "U look lovely as the day is new Tracil!"
- LaRoyce Hawkins: "Miss you Tracle✨ #StayUpton"
- Sara Bues: "Gorg ❤️"
It's probably much too early to start hoping for a guest appearance from Upton compared to the likelihood of One Chicago crossovers, but the Season 11 finale didn't rule out a return nearly as definitively as how Chicago P.D. finished Halstead's story, and I think it's safe to say that her former costars would welcome her back on set. For now, though, it's worth thinking over what the showrunner told CinemaBlend about the Intelligence Unit moving on without the detective.
What Gwen Sigan Said About The "Vacuum" Without Upton
The Season 12 premiere mentioned Upton a few times, but – with the exception of the absent Burgess – everybody seemed to have mostly moved forward over the course of the time jump. Still, she was the only remaining detective in the unit at the time of her exit, and the team just felt different with somebody new in the mix in her place. Of course, that new person won't be around moving forward after her death in the final moments of the episode, but a different newcomer is on the way down the line.
When I spoke with showrunner Gwen Sigan about the twelfth season of Chicago P.D. and what's happening on the Burzek front, I asked if Upton's absence is affecting the team, and she shared:
Definitely! It was nice that we got to have her character leave in a way that I think it wasn't tragic, it was very hopeful. In my mind, these characters are going to stay in each other's lives. I imagine, off screen Ruzek and Burgess are still checking in with her, and Atwater's calling her, and it's not as if she's out of their lives forever, which helps. But I do think as far as the unit, it's a huge vacuum. She meant a lot to a lot of these people, and I think her position within the unit was very unique, especially to Voight. She became almost his confidant in a lot of ways, and... a surrogate daughter in a lot of ways.
Considering that Upton was considering her options in the final minutes of the Season 11 finale and Chicago P.D. never confirmed what her next steps would be, I know I'd like an update on what she's up to even if it's just in the form of one of the characters updating everybody else. As the showrunner said, she meant a lot to the people she left behind, and we've already seen a bit of the impact on Voight.
It definitely leaves an opening for new dynamics and new people to come in and our beloved characters to have to find a new position within the unit as well. So it's been fun in that way of seeing 'Okay, what can we do with this?' Almost trying to make it a positive thing, and to try to see, well, now that this detective is gone, what does that mean for this unit, as far as a work group, and how do they need to shift and change?
Hopefully this "opening" will involve at least one of the longtime officers – Atwater, Burgess, and/or Ruzek – finally getting the promotion to detective status this fall. LaRoyce Hawkins even shared earlier this year that he felt like Atwater was "on the way" to becoming a detective, although he also complimented Burgess and Ruzek. Could the silver lining of losing Upton be somebody else getting a promotion?
Fortunately, Chicago P.D. is back with new episodes to (hopefully) answer that question sooner rather than later. P.D. will continue airing on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC following Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET. You can also revisit Tracy Spiridakos' seasons of Chicago P.D. as Hailey Upton streaming now on Peacock.
