Chicago P.D. is still my favorite police procedural, but the Intelligence Unit has been changed permanently by several character exits over the years. After more than a decade on the air, Chicago P.D. season 12 still offers strong drama, compelling cases, and meaty conflicts between Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) and the administrators in charge of the police force. However, the show is very different than the one that premiered as a mid-season replacement in January 2014.
The harsh reality of rewatching Chicago P.D. season 1 is that it was a grittier show that used to lean more heavily into Voight’s willingness to use violence in the name of getting justice. Additionally, there have been several high-profile exits in the 12 years the police procedural has been on the air. The changes the series has gone through don’t make modern episodes less watchable; however, some cast absences are keenly felt even if the characters have been gone for several years.
Alvin Olinsky
Played by Elias Koteas
Alvin Olinsky was Voight’s best friend and right-hand man for the first five seasons of Chicago P.D.. Beyond that, he was also a well-rounded cop character whose family life became very complicated during the show. His close relationships with Dawson, Ruzek, and Burgess made him a memorable character as well as making his death twice as tragic.
Olinksy was arrested for murder at the beginning of Chicago P.D. season 5 and was stabbed to death in prison. 7 years later, I’m still not over this heartbreaking death. Olinsky recently appeared as a ghost in the Chicago P.D. season 11 finale, which made the loss even more painful because it confirmed that he was truly dead and hadn’t faked it for his own purposes.
Jon Seda’s Antonio Dawson was an original member of the Chicago P.D. cast whose exit from the series was far less compelling than he deserved. Dawson and his family paid the price for Voight’s violence more often than any other people in Voight’s circle. Gang members and others seeking revenge sometimes targeted his children, so Dawson’s loyalty to Voight occasionally caused strain in his relationship with Chicago Fire‘s Gabby.
It’s hard to believe that Dawson has been gone since season 6. He was such a big part of Chicago P.D. that it feels like he was there for longer than he was. Unfortunately, his exit is memorable only because it didn’t do his character justice. He resigned off-screen and disappeared after his addiction to painkillers led him to push a drug dealer out the window while high, causing chaos when Voight tried to cover up the truth for his sake.
Halstead was so central to Chicago P.D.‘s first decade on the air that the procedural feels like a different show without him. He was a young, highly moral cop who was often caught between his conscience and the illegal activities that Voight asked him to participate in or look the other way in order to ensure justice was done. Halstead’s importance was underscored by the fact that Chicago Med‘s connection was his brother, Will — who is also no longer part of the One Chicago franchise.
Halstead’s open-ended exit means he could potentially come back, especially now that FBI: International has been canceled so Soffer no longer has another commitment.
Like Dawson, Halstead had a disappointing exit from Chicago P.D. He abandoned his marriage to Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) to go to Bolivia on a temporary assignment that he kept extending. Hailey finally gave up on him a year before she also left Chicago P.D. However, Halstead’s open-ended exit means he could potentially come back, especially now that FBI: International has been canceled, so Soffer no longer has another commitment.
