Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, and Chicago Med are Wednesday’s most-watched dramas for a reason. They’re full to the brim with heartache, comedy, and all the drama anyone could ask for. But what makes them so special among fans? The characters. A character has to resonate with viewers to leave an impact. It can be a small or significant part of a character’s development that grips viewers and makes them go, “Hey, I like this person.” But in some way or another, they have to connect with the viewers.
A person doesn’t have to be considered a main character to be one of the best. Someone with a five-minute scene can leave just as much of a lasting impression as someone present for twelve seasons. Throughout the combined total of One Chicago’s thirty-three seasons, it’s fairly safe to say there have been a few cast members, no matter how short-lived, to have affected fans through their TV screens. But when one of these favorites dies, that impact can dig further into a person’s heart than if they just left the city. From P.D.’s Nadia Decotis (Stella Maeve) to Fire‘s Otis ( Yuriy Sardarov), their deaths may have vastly varying causes, but the holes they left have yet to be filled.
10.Pat Halstead – ‘Chicago Med’
Played by Louis Herthum
Pat Halstead didn’t have the best relationship with his sons. It was strained at the best of times, and the brothers didn’t really see eye to eye with their father all that often. Halstead Senior was a headstrong man, very set in his ways and independent, so accepting help or advice in any way from his boys wasn’t something he was fond of doing. So when he had to take it easy after open heart surgery, he wasn’t all that compliant.
The 2018 One Chicago crossover saw a twenty-five-story apartment building overcome by a deadly blaze. Pat was living on the floors above the fire when it broke out, trapping him and many others in danger. Incapacitated due to his recovery, he was unable to escape by himself. Rescue by Matt Casey, Pat made it out of the building, only to be met with a concerned Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer). Devastatingly, Pat would later die as a result of the smoke inhalation he suffered. While he wasn’t the most popular character, Jay and Will’s (Nick Gehlfuss) reactions were heartbreaking.
9.Jason Wheeler – ‘Chicago Med’
Played by Jürgen Hooper
Jason Wheeler was a character only appearing in eight episodes throughout the duration of Med’s first season. He struggled with drug and alcohol abuse as a result of finding it difficult to work under the pressures of an emergency department environment. He wasn’t necessarily likable compared to the other characters on the show, but viewers could learn a thing or two from him.
Dr. Wheeler’s life came to an incredibly shocking end. The episode “Monday Mourning” opened as any other before taking a deeply upsetting turn. Jason entered through the doors to the hospital, smiled while passing his colleagues as he continued walking, and headed up to the roof. Without hesitation, he stepped up and over the edge as he took his own life. What makes this so hard to watch is that it happens in real life. If you’re hurting, never be afraid to ask for help.
8.Sheldon Jin – ‘Chicago P.D.’
Played by Archie Kao
Before fan favorite civilian tech Greg Gerwitz, better known to viewers as Mouse (Samuel Hunt), joined the Intelligence Unit in Chicago P.D.‘s second season, Sheldon Jin was the go-to guy for this specialist team whenever they needed technical assistance. He appeared at least once in every episode of season one, but his time on the show came to an end in the first finale of the series.
If there’s one thing known about the team in the Intelligence Unit, it’s that you don’t betray Hank Voight (Jason Beghe). Caught up in a messy plan to arrest his superior when his family was threatened, Jin was deemed invaluable to the cause and murdered for his trouble by corrupt Internal Affairs Sergent Edwin Stillwell (Ian Bohen). While it was known the trouble Sheldon was involved with, his death came as a shock to close out the season, proving these shows weren’t above killing off their main characters.
7.Lexi Olinsky – ‘Chicago P.D.’
Played by Alina Jenine Taber
Pat Halstead died in the 2018 One Chicago crossover, but another secondary character whose death left a painful impact was thrown at fans the previous year, as well. Before the apartment building fire, there was an abandoned warehouse blaze that injured many people and killed dozens, including someone known to the Chicago family.
While Alvin Olinsky was a prominent part of Chicago P.D. for its first five seasons, his daughter Lexi only showed up here and there, appearing in a total of seven episodes, including Fire‘s “Deathtrap,” across a five-year span. She was killed in the warehouse blaze while partying with a group of other teenagers, leaving her father heartbroken when she sadly succumbed to her injuries.
6.Leslie Shay – ‘Chicago Fire’
Played by Lauren German
Viewers of Chicago Fire were introduced to Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Leslie Shay’s friendship early in the first season. Their bond was about as strong as two people could get, there for one another with any problem, need of advice, or simply a shoulder to cry on. Shay was a constant presence until her untimely death in the season three opener.
Tragically, Shay’s life was cut short when Truck 81, Squad 3, and Battalion Chief Boden (Eamonn Walker) were called to the scene of a fire in an abandoned building. At first, all was quiet, but chaos soon erupted when an explosion rocked the area. Fast forward four months, and viewers got the aftermath of the shocking cliffhanger, but the reveal did nothing to calm their nerves. As everyone lay injured and dazed amongst the rubble, fear crept in when Shay was found unresponsive and not breathing. After a time jump, it’s revealed she didn’t make it. Despite being an episode that leads to the death of a beloved character, “Real Never Waits” is arguably one of the best episodes of Chicago Fire.
5.Justin Voight – ‘Chicago P.D.’
Played by Josh Segarra
Justin Voight appeared sporadically throughout the first three seasons of Chicago P.D. He first presented in the third episode of season one, “Chin Check,” as a cocky, overly confident man just being released from prison. The audience’s first on-screen impression of him comes when Erin Lindsey (Sophia Bush) meets him at the prison entrance, to which he promptly kisses her on the lips, catching her completely off-guard.
Justin’s character development blossomed throughout the seasons, despite his rocky first impression leaving a bit of a bitter aftertaste. By his final episode, he was married and had a one-year-old son, which is why his death came as such a shocking blow. No one saw it coming, and the manner of his death made it even more brutal. Shot in the neck and left to die in the trunk of the car, Voight and Lindsey find him barely clinging to life. If his death wasn’t sad enough, seeing Voight crying and so upset was so out of character that it made “Start Digging” one of Chicago P.D.’s saddest episodes to date.
4.Anna Turner – ‘Chicago Fire’
Played by Charlotte Sullivan
Just because a death is expected, doesn’t make it any easier to deal with, and Anna Turner’s passing is one of Chicago Fire’s hardest to watch. She was welcomed to the Fire team in the season five episode “One Hundred,” and fans quickly grew to like her character. She formed a connection with long-standing Fire member Kelly Severide, and the two eventually started a relationship.
Later in her story, Anna’s past and current medical problems were revealed to fans. Having grown to like her, the news that she had cancer came as an emotional blow. Severide and Anna only grew closer even as she got sicker and sicker. When the time finally came to say goodbye, it was utterly distressing to see her death play out on screen. From Severide being comforted by her father to him begging her not to go, this is one character death that had fans reeling long after the credits rolled.
3.Nadia Decotis – ‘Chicago P.D.’
Played by Stella Maeve
Nadia’s death was almost unbearable. She came into the Chicago P.D. family in the first season’s fourth episode, “Now Is Always Temporary,” as a prostitute who gets one over on Adam Ruzek (Patrick Fleuger) by kicking him in the groin and fleeing the scene. Although she started her time on the show as just another part of this week’s crime, she became so much more as her time in the series progressed.
As usual with One Chicago crossovers, someone is usually left bordering on the line between life and death. This time, it was Nadia. In a crossover with Law and Order: SVU, Nadia was sadly caught in the crossfire between serial killer Gregory Yates (Dallas Roberts) and the Chicago and New York City police departments. Yates set his sights on her in a previous episode before finally acting, resulting in her rape and murder. After everything she’d been through, for her to go out this way was emotionally distressing.
2.Alvin Olinsky – ‘Chicago P.D.’
Played by Elias Koteas
Alvin’s death never gets easier to think about. Taking the fall for Voight in the murder of his son’s killer, Olinsky is imprisoned following the discovery of his DNA on the body. Having helped his friend get revenge for Justin’s death, nothing but trouble ensued for the seasoned detective in the aftermath of the deadly events.
Cops in jail typically don’t fare well. They’ll likely be targeted when their law enforcement roots surface as the top story on prison news. For Al, his status caught up to him when he was cornered by a gang and stabbed multiple times. Al initially survived his wounds, being transported to the hospital, where he was rushed into surgery. Voight was by his side as he was wheeled away, and the scene cuts between him and the rest of Intelligence anxiously waiting for news. Devastatingly, Olinsky succumbed to his injuries and died during surgery, and the show hasn’t been the same without him since. To this say, it is one of Chicago P.D.’s saddest episodes.
1.Brian “Otis” Zvonecek – ‘Chicago Fire’
Played by Yuriy Sardarov
As previously mentioned, death can be devastating whether fans know it’s coming or not. But when a long-running character whose been present on the show since the pilot episode is killed off without warning, the level of shock that accompanies that viewing experience can hit fans hard in the chest.
Cliffhangers are second nature to the One Chicago franchise. They’re like an unwritten rule the writers incorporate at least once a year, be it in the midseason finale or the season finale, and they always pack a punch. “Sacred Ground” opened the eighth season, packing one hell of a punch to welcome back audiences. Otis’ death came out of nowhere, and between his best friend Joe Cruz’s (Joe Minoso) reaction and the memorial to close out the season opener, fans were a mess by the end of the episode.
