Summary

• Hailey Upton's departure in Chicago PD season 11 finale was driven by personal pain, leaving a void in Hank Voight's Intelligence team.
• Showrunner Gwen Sigan hints at introducing a new character to fill Upton's role, invigorating the show with fresh dynamics.
• While a new character may bring excitement, existing team like Burgess, Ruzek, and Atwater could step up to the plate.

The search for Hailey Upton's replacement in Sophia Bush's Erin Lindsay, who left in Chicago PD season 4, Upton gradually carved her own legacy in One Chicago. In her later years, her role in the team grew as she also became closer to Voight.

Speaking with TV Insider, Sigan offers an update about their search for Upton's replacement. Instead of bringing back an original character or promoting any of the existing team , she hints that they will be debuting a new player for the role of Voight's right-hand person. Read his full quote below:

It’s going to be very fun to come up with some ideas and a new character and what a new character could add and how it would shift up the dynamics of the unit and new stories to tell. I think it will invigorate the show a lot to have somebody new come on.

Why Replacing Upton In Chicago PD Season 12 Is So Tricky

Upton's Had A Massive Role In Hank Voight's Intelligence

Upton was specifically great at pulling Voight back and making him understand that there's another way to achieve their role without breaking the law.

Upton's exit in the Chicago PD season 11 finale was primarily motivated by her painful break-up with her husband, Jay Halstead. Despite initially promising to come back to her, Jesse Lee Soffer's character failed to stay true to his word and opted to abandon his wife. Loton is a massive blow to Intelligence. For years now, the team has been operating understaffed because of several big One Chicago departures. Luckily, it hasn't impacted how effective they are in their jobs, but Upton's exit makes it tricky to operate properly, especially since she was Voight's deputy.

Aside from being Voight's go-to at work, Upton has also become like a daughter to him. That was the crux of Intelligence's Chicago PD season 11's final case. These make it very difficult to find someone to replace Spiridakos' character moving forward. One Chicago will need able to go toe-to-toe with Voight when he's teetering on the edge. It's no secret that Intelligence's leader has a penchant for crossing lines for justice. Upton was specifically great at pulling Voight back and making him understand that there's another way to achieve their role without breaking the law.

While introducing a new character can invigorate Chicago PD season 12, the show should look into its already established crop of to step up to the plate that Upton recently vacated. One Chicago has three existing candidates who can simply slide up — Kim Burgess, Adam Ruzek, and Kevin Atwater. In any case, all of them are already long due to be promoted, and this is the perfect time to do it.

Source: TV Insider