After joining in Season 4 and chalking up 140 logged episodes on Chicago P.D., Tracy Spiridakos, who plays Hailey Upton, departed the series in Season 11. Upton's departure from the show left the Intelligence slightly undermanned, but that has begun to change as Season 12 begins to gather pace. Officer Kiana Cook (Toya Turner) has been working closely with Intelligence since the season began, and series showrunner Gwen Sigan has teased that her addition to the Unit will have a bearing on a major change within the team.
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After playing her part in the manhunt for Martel's killer, Cook took on a major role in last Wednesday's episode where she leads the charge in a twisty murder case. Going forward, showrunner Sigan has confirmed to TV Insider that Cook "is our newest team member." Her addition to Intelligence will lead to a change in the leadership cadre within the Unit as someone is getting promoted. "Yeah, I think there's a lot of things that play into it, right?" the showrunner said to the outlet.
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"The fact that we had Upton [Tracy Spiridakos] leave -- she was the last higher-ranking officer in the unit, and so there's sort of this vacuum of needing that thing -- and then how the detective test usually works in the real world is it comes up every couple years. We're playing that it's come up, and also we have this vacuum. It's needed that there's somebody at that level and one of our officers will take the chance, give it a shot."
In Chicago P.D. Season 12, Episode 4, "The After," while working on the case she brought to Intelligence, Cook worked alongside Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar), who ultimately suggested she join the unit. Cook will be joining a team that is close-knit and interested in seeing one another thrive, even when a promotion is in the picture. "Yeah, I think the nice thing is that the team is all very supportive," Sigan said to TV Insider when quizzed about how the team would deal with the promotion. "After this many years of working together, I think they all want to support each other and also see it as somebody getting that level and doing well really just supports the whole team. And so in a nice way, everyone's very supportive and it certainly changes some dynamics, but there's no jealousy, there's no bitterness, there's no envy. It's really, let's all support and this is the best for the whole unit to have somebody backing them up."
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Upton's Replacement Is Known and Appreciated Member of Intelligence
With Upton out of the picture, Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati), Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger), and Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) are those in line for a promotion. However, speaking earlier in the month, the pair of Flueger and Hawkins confirmed that both their characters aren't interested in becoming Hank Voight's (Jason Beghe) deputy, leaving Burgess as the clear favorite. Speaking about the promotion and the vacant position, Hawkins explained:
"All he has to do is be in the pocket. All he has to do is be there for Voight. Everybody in that unit is special, and we're there for a reason. And some of us aren't there to be detectives. Some of us are just there to be there and to be present and to help Sarge out. We just lost another valuable member, somebody who we know was very, very close to Sarge. Plus, he almost lost his life more importantly."
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Chicago P.D. airs on NBC on Wednesdays at 10 pm. Stream past episodes of Chicago PD on Peacock.
Chicago P.D.
TV-14
Crime
Chicago P.D. is a gripping police procedural drama series that debuted in 2014, set against the backdrop of the city of Chicago. The show focuses on the officers and detectives of the 21st District, comprising two distinct units: the uniformed patrol officers and the Intelligence Unit that tackles major offenses.
Release Date January 8, 2014
Cast Jason Beghe , Marina Squerciati , Patrick John Flueger , LaRoyce Hawkins , Amy Morton , Jesse Lee Soffer , Tracy Spiridakos , Jon Seda
Main Genre Crime
Seasons 12
Creator(s) Michael Brandt , Derek Haas , Matt Olmstead
Story By dick wolf
Writers Dick Wolf
Network NBC
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