Chicago P.D. concluded the first half of Season 7 on a killer cliffhanger, and there haven't been many clues for what to expect about whether Halstead lives or dies, let alone what happens for the rest of Intelligence, whether Burgess remains pregnant, and what role Darius Walker will continue to play. Well, P.D. doesn't return with new episodes until January, but Michael Beach -- who joined P.D. in Season 7 to play Darius -- shared that some shocking things are on the way following the Halstead cliffhanger in the second half of the season on NBC.
Michael Beach recently spoke with CinemaBlend about his work on Chicago P.D. When I noted that P.D. can get surprisingly dark and asked if he could tease some of what's in store in the second half of Season 7, he said this:
I can just tell you that episodes coming up are, I think is exactly what you were just saying, is that there's some shocking stuff that happens that you're like, 'Whoa, that's network TV?! Whoa!'
Michael Beach of course didn't drop any huge details that would spoil what's to come on Chicago P.D., especially considering the way the fall finale ended with so many things (including Halstead's life) up in the air, but fans can evidently count on some "shocking stuff" when P.D. returns in 2020.
Chicago P.D. does frequently toe the line of what viewers likely expect can actually happen on a broadcast network like NBC, even if it does hold the 10 p.m. ET hour that can get away with more than shows like Chicago Med airing in the 8 p.m. ET slot. Michael Beach's comments suggest that P.D. won't be watering itself down when things pick up again in 2020.
What does this mean for Darius? Well, he's a complex character who has the kind of development that he could work as a long-running character, but he also has made more than one member of Intelligence pretty angry, and that's never good for a character's longevity even if he does have a truce going with Voight.
The good news for Darius is that Upton seems to be the one who wants to take him down the most, and Upton is arguably the member of Intelligence least likely to go rogue and hunt him down. That is, unless she thinks he had something to do with what happened to Halstead. Good old Hailey wasn't exactly taking it easy on suspects in the fall finale when searching for her missing partner!
I'm not saying it would be hilarious if Darius becomes the latest character to depart One Chicago to head to Costa Rica, but I would laugh. While whether or not Darius Walker has a long future on Chicago P.D. remains to be seen, Michael Beach did share what he has especially liked about working on the show:
But I can say that I just loved playing that character and I loved working with Jason Beghe. He and I got along so well and that relationship I think is so strong. So I really like working on the show.
While the cops of the Intelligence Unit have largely been busy with their own complications -- Burgess and Ruzek with her pregnancy, Rojas with her difficult transition into a team and connection to Atwater, Upton and Halstead with whatever they have going on between them on top of their separate issues -- Jason Beghe's Voight and Michael Beach's Darius Walker formed one of the most compelling dynamics of the season, with a sort of begrudging respect on both sides.
What's in store with their unconventional dynamic in the second half of Season 7, and what will be so shocking that it will leave viewers surprised that it went down on network TV? Those are only some of the major One Chicago mysteries fans have been pondering since the fall finales aired in November.
Find out what happens next for Intelligence when Chicago P.D. returns with its winter premiere on Wednesday, January 8 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, following the winter premieres of Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET.
You can see more of Michael Beach in the meantime thanks to his role in Apple TV+'s upcoming drama Truth Be Told, which premieres with a star-studded cast on Friday, December 6. There are plenty of other exciting shows on the way as well, and you can find when to watch them on our 2020 winter and spring TV premiere schedule.
