The 2023 TV schedule this fall was already rougher than usual for One Chicago viewers who can usually count on Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, and Chicago Med to return with new episodes, and now P.D. fans are in for some more bad news. Another series regular is set to depart the hit NBC drama, just one season after Jesse Lee Soffer bowed out as Jay Halstead. Sadly, Tracy Spiridakos is leaving the show as Hailey Upton, but it could be happening in a way that I think qualifies as a bit of good news to go with the bad.
Tracy Spiridakos will depart Chicago P.D. after the upcoming Season 11 premieres, according to Variety, although how many episodes she'll be featured in has not been revealed at the time of writing. That certainly beats an announcement that Spiridakos is leaving the show ahead of Season 11, and presumably means that Hailey Upton will get a farewell story like Halstead did rather than an off-screen exit like Antonio Dawson and Vanessa Rojas.
That's not to say that Upton will have to get a goodbye as downbeat as Halstead's back in early Season 10, although there's certainly never a guarantee of a glass half full on Chicago P.D.. Still, knowing that Spiridakos will be back for at least part of the season makes me optimistic about her getting a solid goodbye. She joined the show at the end of Season 4, before being promoted to series regular status in Season 5. Season 10 featured Upton having to deal with losing Halstead as her partner and husband, and her storylines after his exit weren't exactly celebratory.
Whether or not you're a fan of Upstead, part of what made Jay's decision to leave so depressing was that it meant leaving Hailey behind without so much as consulting her, when he'd been the one she trusted not to leave her. P.D. didn't really have any happy Upstead options with Soffer leaving and Spiridakos staying to continue Upton's journey; perhaps a happy ending for Upton could happen with the actress leaving the show.
After Chicago Med said goodbye to Nick Gehlfuss as Will Halstead by bringing Torrey DeVitto back as Natalie Manning in the Season 8 finale, I could imagine P.D. doing something similar. Jesse Lee Soffer didn't rule out reprising his role as Jay Halstead when he spoke with CinemaBlend about fans hoping to see him again. I'm sad to be losing the actress and the character, but maybe P.D. could let Upton ride off into the sunset instead of heap any more misery on her.
Of course, Chicago P.D. has bigger issues to resolve ASAP whenever it returns for Season 11 than how Upton says goodbye. The Season 10 finale ended without revealing Ruzek's fate after he was shot, with Patrick John Flueger crushed his performance. At the time of the finale, it seemed likely that Season 11 would pick up without much of a time jump, if there was one at all.
Unfortunately, the delays caused by the WGA writers strike and ongoing SAG-AFTRA writers strike may mean that P.D. has to jump ahead or else pick up where Season 10 left off without filming outdoors. If P.D. is going to salvage Season 11, then it will presumably be winter before filming can begin, and a Chicago winter has a very different look than a Chicago fall.
All in all, we can only speculate about how much Upton we'll get, whether Ruzek will bounce back, whether a time jump has to happen, and if there will be time for me to finally get some substantial screentime for Upton and Burgess. The SAG-AFTRA strike may mean that Tracy Spiridakos won't be able to comment on the news until a deal is struck with the AMPTP. The actress was picketing for the union over the summer, along with Jesse Lee Soffer and former Chicago Fire showrunner Derek Haas.
For now, you can revisit the first ten seasons of Chicago P.D. streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription, or join the One Chicago rewatch with NBC's rotating selections of repeats this fall.
