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 she was abandoned by her husband. The Chicago PD season 11 finale officially wrote her out of One Chicago, leaving the status of Intelligence next year more curious.

Chicago PD is used to cast members leaving the show. Typically, someone new comes in to fill the void that they left, and there’s an expectation that the same will be the case for Upton. In a new interview with TV Line, however, Sigan revealed that they still haven’t decided who 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 just 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. NBC and Wolf Entertainment should return the procedural to its roots and the first step to that is to rebuild its core cast.

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

Source: TV Line