Warning: spoilers ahead for the fifth episode of Chicago P.D. Season 11.
Chicago P.D. is the darkest of the three One Chicago shows, and the latest episode in the 2024 TV schedule lived up to that reputation with a tragic case for Kevin Atwater. After breakfast with his dad turned into trying to stop a jewelry heist, the Intelligence Unit cop had to watch a civilian trapped behind doors bleed to death with Atwater unable to find a key to open them. It was a tragedy that quite literally kept LaRoyce Hawkins' character up at night, and according to the actor, it was also pulled from real-life stories from the producer who used to be a cop.
The episode (available streaming via Peacock Premium subscription now) ended with Atwater returning to the scene of the crime and belatedly finding the key he needed to save the life. Speaking with TV Insider, he explained that it was a storyline that will stick with him, and came from one of the P.D. producers. He shared:
Yeah, that’s something I’m never going to forget. Brian Luce, our tech advisor and a producer on the show—we consider him the heart and the soul of everything we do—is a former cop and tells us these stories all the time that stick with me specifically about how you have these faces that you never forget in the line of duty.
Chicago P.D. having a former cop on board as a producer and tech advisor surely helps a great deal with the show's authenticity; sadly, however, that extends to storylines like what Atwater went through. The case was rough enough on the character that I asked LaRoyce Hawkins how far Atwater is on his journey to making detective, and there's no saying when that could happen. The actor continued, elaborating on Atwater's failure to save Corey:
Sometimes they’re faces that you couldn’t save, and those faces you go to bed with almost every night. And as time goes on, you feel less pressure and you give yourself more grace, but you never forget those faces. And Corey is going to be one of those faces for a fact.
Of course, there was so much going on as Atwater tried to stop the jewelry heist that he can hardly be faulted for not spotting a tiny key under broken glass in the heat of the moment, but that doesn't mean the officer won't blame himself. Whether Chicago P.D. continues to explore that remains to be seen. LaRoyce Hawkins spoke with CinemaBlend about the great advice he got from a former P.D. villain about Season 11, which I'd say was evident in the latest episode on February 21.
Given that P.D. is only expected to run for thirteen episodes due to the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike delays, Season 11 is nearly halfway over at this point. The next episode looks to be Voight-centric after the previous put Atwater through the wringer. Check out the promo:
Any Voight-centric episode seems likely to involve a fair amount of Upton as well, and I don't say that just because Tracy Spiridakos didn't appear in the big Atwater episode. The two characters have been surprisingly close ever since Halstead's departure, to the point that she chose Voight as her confidant about her struggles in the Season 11 premiere.
Tune in to NBC on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET for new episodes of Chicago P.D. Season 11 to close out the weekly night of One Chicago action. As always, the cop procedural airs after Chicago Fire – which will soon welcome Jesse Spencer back as Casey for the goodbye to Kara Killmer's Brett – at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med – hopefully with more of Goodwin's difficult personal storyline – at 8 p.m. ET.
