Upton’s Chicago PD Replacement Gets A Disappointing Update From Show Boss

Summary

• Showrunner Gwen Sigan reveals that they haven’t decided on Hailey Upton’s replacement in
  Chicago PD
  season 12.
• Despite previous assumptions, considering her role in
  Chicago PD
  season 11, Josephine Petrovic is not confirmed to join Intelligence — at least not yet.
• Regardless of who it will be, Intelligence needs new members, given how much smaller the team has become in the last few years.

The search for Hailey Upton’s replacement in Chicago PD season 12 gets an honest update from showrunner Gwen Sigan. Not long after Jesse Lee Soffer’s exit as Jay Halstead in Chicago PD season 10, his on-screen partner followed suit, as Upton struggled to cope in light of their separation. Despite trying to move forward by focusing on her work, Spiridakos’ character needed a change so she could have a fresh start after her husband abandoned her. The Chicago PD season 11 finale officially wrote her out of One Chicago, leaving the status of Intelligence next year uncertain.

Chicago PD is used to cast members leaving the show. Typically, someone new comes in to fill the void, and there’s an expectation that the same will be the case for Upton. In a new interview with TVLine, however, Sigan revealed that they still haven’t decided who will replace her in Intelligence. Despite Josephine Petrovic being the clear option, she maintained that nothing is set in stone just yet. Read her full quote below:

We don’t know yet. We get back in the [writers] room next week, and there’s a lot that we’re going to figure out. But I loved Petrovic on the show this season. I think that [Bojana Novakovic] was such a pro and she made [the role] her own. There’s so much depth to that character and it was acted wonderfully.

Who Intelligence’s Upton Replacement Should Be In Chicago PD Season 12

Hank Voight’s Team Needs Some New Members

Losing Upton is a big deal for Chicago PD, considering the current state of Intelligence. Hank Voight has been running a slimmer team compared to the show’s earlier seasons. After Halstead abruptly left, Upton stepped up and became Voight’s right hand. There were rumblings that Voight’s abduction seemed like a way to bring back Antonio Dawson in the Chicago PD season 11 finale, but that didn’t happen. That doesn’t mean, however, that it can’t come to fruition. There’s no stopping Jon Seda from coming back, and Intelligence needs someone already reliable like Dawson.

If that isn’t the case, however, Chicago PD season 12 can simply keep Petrovic. This is arguably the easiest way to replace Upton in Intelligence, considering that the character is already embedded in the show. Granted that she has her personal issues, but it does seem like Upton really helped her get sober. As long as she keeps herself on that straight path, then there’s no doubt that she will be helpful with Voight’s operations moving forward. There’s also something to be said about her having some kind of relationship with Upton that makes it easier to accept her.

Regardless of who they introduce as Upton’s replacement, what’s important is Chicago PD bringing in more characters to join Intelligence. It’s worrying to see Voight’s team getting smaller and smaller every year. The show previously leaned on its ensemble angle, but it is becoming more difficult to do that when it’s barely an ensemble now. While focusing on a character every week is a great way to develop them, it’s isolating, since there’s barely any interaction with the rest of the team. NBC and Wolf Entertainment should return the procedural to its roots, and the first step to that is to rebuild its core cast.

How Upton’s Departure Will Impact Voight Moving Forward

Voight & Upton’s Grew Very Close After Halstead Left

She served as Voight’s most trusted subordinate, and Upton proved to be worthy of the position when she went out of her way to bring him back home in the
Chicago PD
season 11 finale.

After his near-death experience in the Chicago PD season 11 finale, Voight seemed to suddenly realize how much he had relied on Upton and how much she had on him. The pair’s relationship wasn’t always like this, but there was a bond that was instituted when they had to bury Upton’s accidental killing of a perpetrator back in the Chicago PD season 8 finale. This was a secret that they both tried so hard to keep under the lid, with only Halstead eventually finding out about it. With the ex-spouses now gone, only Voight knows about it in Chicago.

When Halstead left, Upton turned into Voight in terms of coping with her tragedy. Somehow, this made them closer. However, spending time with him was also in tandem with her professional place in Intelligence. She served as Voight’s most trusted subordinate, and Upton proved to be worthy of the position when she went out of her way to bring him back home in the Chicago PD season 11 finale. Therefore, while Voight may have been supportive of her departure, it’s safe to say that it would be a difficult transition for him, regardless of how qualified Upton’s replacement will be.

Will Upton Ever Return To Chicago PD?

Chicago PD Season 11 Finale Left Upton’s Future Uncertain

One Chicago has seen its fair share of character departures in its more than a decade on the air. Chicago PD itself has only four original characters left in its active roster. At the very least, Sigan and her team have an idea of how to move forward from Upton’s departure. That said, if Al Olinsky’s Chicago PD season 11 finale cameo is an indication, it’s safe to say that the door is always open for Spiridakos to return.

The show left her fate open-ended, but there is nothing stopping her from coming back. Voight and the team will likely be happy to reunite with her. However, it may take a while before that can finally happen, unless she follows in Soffer’s footsteps and also returns to direct one of the upcoming Chicago PD season 12 episodes. While that won’t bring Upton back onscreen, it would keep Spiridakos in the One Chicago family in a sweet way.

Chicago PD season 12 will premiere as part of NBC’s 2024-2025 fall TV schedule.

Source: TVLine