Big changes are in store for Chicago P.D. when it returns for Season 7. One of the original cast members will be missing, and several newcomers will debut to fill in the gap and expand the scope of the series. As it turns out, there could be a little extra love in the air for the Intelligence Unit in Season 7 as well. While romance within the unit doesn't usually end well, that may not stop two members of the team from hooking up.
Chicago P.D. showrunner Rick Eid didn't drop details about what exactly could be in store, but he did reveal this about a changing dynamic on Season 7:
There’s potentially another interesting intra-team romance... [N]ot sure if it will be fully realized or not. But it’s something we’re talking about and writing toward.
Color me intrigued! Chicago P.D. has a long history of hooking up various members of the Intelligence Unit, so a new "intra-team romance" wouldn't be unprecedented, but it's worth looking closely at Rick Eid's word choices in his comments to TVLine about a romance the P.D. team is writing toward.
By saying "another" team romance, he seems to be ruling out couples who broke up getting back together. It was always unlikely that Jay Halstead and Erin Lindsay would reunite considering how Sophia Bush left Chicago P.D. Should we assume that Eid is ruling out a rekindled Kim Burgess/Adam Ruzek and/or Hailey Upton/Adam Ruzek in Season 7?
If that's the case, then there's actually a limited number of pairings from the rest of the existing Intelligence Unit, assuming the members continue to favor opposite sex relationships, and assuming we can rule out Voight. Kevin Atwater hasn't dated within the unit before, so he's a potential romantic partner for either Burgess or Upton if he finds himself on the market.
Neither Upton nor Burgess has dated Halstead either at this point, and my best guess at this point is that the Chicago P.D. writers are toying with a Halstead/Upton romance.
They're partners who have gotten closer as the seasons have passed, and Halstead finally seems to be over Lindsay. A handful of Season 6 episodes definitely seemed to be playing up Halstead's feelings for Upton, even as she dated Ruzek. Season 6 ended with Halstead declaring that he'd go where Upton went if the Intelligence Unit was shut down, and there seemed to be a lot of words left unsaid.
Admittedly, Halstead has been seriously burned by an in-unit relationship in the past, and part of what ended Upton/Ruzek was that Upton didn't want to mix work with relationships. Still, I'd say there are more seeds planted for Halstead/Upton than any other existing Intelligence Unit dynamic. Rick Eid did also note that "some pretty major personal things" are in store for Burgess, which could mean a focus on non-romantic elements of her character.
That said, we should take into account that a new cop is joining the Intelligence Unit in Season 7 to replace Antonio Dawson. Lisseth Chavez of The Fosters fame will play a gritty undercover cop by the name of Vanessa Rojas. Could she hook up with one of the characters and be half of the "intra-team romance" in Season 7?
Not too much is known about Rojas at this point, but she will reportedly bond with Upton. Could we get a curveball romance with them rather than Halstead/Upton, or any others? Personally, I hope Rojas and Ruzek don't hook up, considering he already dated Burgess and Upton.
All of this said, we probably shouldn't expect romance to become a huge part of the show. Chicago P.D. isn't done with Antonio Dawson despite Jon Seda's departure, and there's a new crime boss coming on the scene. Throw in the murder of newly elected mayor Brian Kelton at the end of Season 6 (and Voight as a likely suspect), and limited amounts of love might be in the air.
Find out when Chicago P.D. returns to NBC for Season 7 on Wednesday, September 25 at 10 p.m. ET. It follows Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET. The fall TV lineup is certainly going to be packed with all things Chicago, and this season's big crossover should be a doozy.
