Chicago P.D.

Plot

A spin-off of Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. focuses on the fictional 21st District, which houses patrol officers and the department's elite Intelligence Unit, led by Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) through their action-packed daily lives as they strive to keep the city peaceful. Voight must learn to adjust to a changing geopolitical context and adopt new strategies to combat crime in the city he loves.

Cast

Jason Beghe as Sergeant Henry "Hank" Voight, the enigmatic and often mercurial chief of the Chicago P.D.'s Intelligence Unit. Despite his brutal, tough exterior, he is loyal to the cops and detectives serving under him and highly "dedicated" to the victims of the crimes his unit investigates to the point of committing human rights violations, mainly torture, and not respecting the law. He is first introduced in Chicago Fire as a dirty cop who clashes with CFD Lieutenant Matthew Casey after Voight's son, Justin, causes an accident in which a teenager is paralyzed, and Casey, who was first on scene, had intended to testify that Justin was DUI. He is arrested by Det. Antonio Dawson for trying to have Casey silenced by force but is later released from prison and reinstated to the police force by Internal Affairs. As a result, many of Casey's colleagues dislike him, and Casey's superior Chief Boden has a love-hate working relationship with him. It is eventually revealed in the Chicago Fire episode "Let Her Go" that his dirty cop alter ego was part of an undercover operation to catch criminals and other dirty cops. Prior to taking command of Intelligence, Voight worked in the Gang Unit. His father Richard was a former CPD officer who was killed in the line of duty. Voight is a widower; his wife, Camille, died of cancer some years prior. His son, Justin, served in the Army and was killed in the last episode of season 3 while trying to help a friend. Voight took an interest in Erin Lindsay when she was 14 and raised her as his daughter.

Jon Seda as Senior Detective Antonio Dawson (seasons 1–6), an Intelligence Unit detective who previously arrested Voight for harassment and has since worked alongside him. Unlike Voight, he has limits on how far he will go to get criminals off the streets, as shown by the fact that he asks Halstead to stop Voight from killing anyone while on the hunt for Pulpo because he does not want it on his conscience. He and his former wife Laura have two children: Diego and Eva. He is the older brother of Chicago Fire character Gabriela "Gabby" Dawson. In season 4, he is offered a job at the State's Attorney's Office as Lead Investigator, which he accepts. After becoming disillusioned with the job, he returns to the unit in the first episode of season 5. In season 6, Antonio struggles with recovering from a shoulder injury and dependency on the oxycodone he is taking for the pain. After a dealer he owes kidnaps, beats, and rapes his daughter, Antonio, high on oxy, kills him in revenge. Though Voight and Ruzek manage to cover up the incident as self-defense, and Antonio successfully recovers in rehab, mayor-hopeful Superintendent Brian Kelton later gets the case reopened in order to take down the Intelligence Unit, and in the season finale, Antonio relapses after Ruzek is arrested after taking the blame for everything to protect him. In the season 7 premiere, it is revealed that Voight found Antonio and checked him into an off-the-books rehab clinic to get him clean again while also protecting his career. It was revealed several episodes later that Antonio resigned and moved to Puerto Rico to spend more time with his family. He was replaced by Vanessa Rojas in season seven.

Episodes

Crossovers

"A Dark Day" (Chicago Fire Season 2, Episode 20) – In the first crossover with Fire, concluding on "8:30 PM", an explosion occurs at Chicago Med, sending the fire and police departments in a race against the clock to find the culprits.

"Nobody Touches Anything" (Chicago Fire Season 3, Episode 7) / "Chicago Crossover" (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 16, Episode 7) – In the first crossover with Fire and SVU, concluding on "They'll Have to Go Through Me", a routine house fire uncovers evidence of a pedophile ring spanning from Chicago to New York.

"Three Bells" (Chicago Fire Season 3, Episode 13) – In the second crossover with Fire, concluding on "A Little Devil Complex", Firehouse 51 and Intelligence search for the serial arsonist who killed Leslie Shay.

"We Called Her Jellybean" (Chicago Fire Season 3, Episode 21) / "Daydream Believer" (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 16, Episode 20) – In the second crossover with P.D. and SVU, continuing on "The Number of Rats", a fire uncovers evidence of a serial arsonist suspected of committing rape and murder in Chicago and New York.

"The Beating Heart" (Chicago Fire Season 4, Episode 10) / "Malignant" (Chicago Med Season 1, Episode 5) – In the first crossover with Fire and Med, concluding on "Now I'm God", a member of Firehouse 51 is rushed to Chicago Med for a stabbing while an attempted suicide uncovers four cases of chemo overdose, leading to an investigation that becomes personal for Voight.

"Nationwide Manhunt" (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 17, Episode 14) – In the third crossover with SVU, concluding on "The Song of Gregory William Yates", the New York and Chicago police departments hunt for escaped criminal Greg Yates.

"Some Make It, Some Don't" (Chicago Fire Season 5, Episode 9) – In the third crossover with Fire, concluding on "Don't Bury This Case", Severide becomes the prime suspect in a case of vehicular manslaughter.

"Deathtrap" (Chicago Fire Season 5, Episode 15) / "Fake" (Chicago Justice Season 1, Episode 1) – In the only crossover with Fire and Justice, continuing on "Emotional Proximity", the prime suspect in a warehouse fire is put on trial.

Spin-off

At the 2016 Television Critics Association winter press tour, NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke revealed that the network had discussions with Dick Wolf about a fourth series in the Chicago franchise centered on the legal system. The working title was Chicago Law. Salke has since confirmed that the series was officially in development. The series was a spin-off of Chicago P.D. by introducing Assistant State's Attorney (ASA) characters in the 21st episode of P.D.'s third season. Philip Winchester was the first to be cast. Nazneen Contractor joined the series in March 2016 and the title was changed to Chicago Justice. Rocky alum Carl Weathers played Cook County State's Attorney Mark Jefferies, while Joelle Carter also starred. Lorraine Toussaint reprised her role as defense attorney Shambala Green, who appeared in seven episodes of Law & Order. On May 12, 2016, NBC gave Chicago Justice a series order. On September 28, it was reported that Jon Seda would join the cast and that his character Antonio would become an investigator for the DA's office. The series ran from March 1, to May 14, 2017. In July 2017, it was announced that Seda would rejoin Chicago P.D. full-time.

Production

On March 27, 2013, it was reported that NBC was considering plans for a spin-off of Chicago Fire. Deadline Hollywood revealed that the proposed spin-off would involve the Chicago Police Department, and would be created and executive produced by Dick Wolf, Derek Haas, Michael Brandt, and Matt Olmstead. On May 10, 2013, NBC picked up the show for the 2013–14 United States network television schedule. On May 12, 2013, the show was announced as an unscheduled midseason replacement. The show premiered on January 8, 2014.

It came to light in November 2017 that Bush had left the show because of Beghe's behavior behind the scenes. Bush's claims led NBC to open an investigation into Beghe's behavior. On November 21, 2017, Deadline reported that Beghe was investigated for behavior that was considered overly aggressive. Beghe released a statement in which he admitted to engaging in aggressive behavior and apologized for it.

The seventh season premiered on September 25, 2019. More recently, Gwen Sigan was promoted to showrunner and signed an overall deal with Universal Television.

On February 27, 2020, NBC renewed the series for an eighth, ninth and tenth season. The eighth season premiered on November 11, 2020. The ninth season premiered on September 22, 2021. The tenth season premiered on September 21, 2022. On May 5, 2025, NBC renewed the series for a thirteenth season. On March 27, 2026, the series was renewed for a fourteenth season.

Filming

The series is filmed entirely in Chicago. The exterior of the station house is the Old Maxwell Street Police Station (943 West Maxwell Street) and is the same location that was used in the series Hill Street Blues. It is located about half a mile from the firehouse location of Chicago Fire at 1360 S. Blue Island Ave.

On March 13, 2020, Universal Television production of the seventh season was shut down due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

Casting

Cast members include Jason Beghe as the Intelligence team leader Sergeant Hank Voight and Jon Seda as Detective Antonio Dawson. Actors Tania Raymonde, Kelly Blatz, Scott Eastwood, and Melissa Sagemiller were initially cast as well.

However, as the show went into pre-production, the cast began to change. On June 13, 2013, it was announced that Melissa Sagemiller would no longer be a part of the show and Jesse Lee Soffer officially joined the cast as a series regular. On August 23, 2013, Patrick Flueger and One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush joined the cast as Officer Adam Ruzek and Detective Erin Lindsay, respectively. Marina Squerciati joined the cast on August 28, 2013. On August 30, Elias Koteas became a regular. Archie Kao was announced as a regular on September 27, 2013. On October 21, 2013, Stella Maeve was cast in a recurring role as Nadia, a pretty 18-year-old escort who is addicted to heroin and goes through a very difficult withdrawal. Sydney Tamiia Poitier was announced as a guest star in December 2013. On December 20, 2013, it was announced that both Eastwood and Raymonde had departed the series over creative differences.

In September 2016, it was reported that Seda would move to the legal drama spin-off Chicago Justice as a regular. In May 2017, it was announced that Bush would depart the series after four seasons. After Chicago Justice's cancellation, in July 2017, it was announced that Seda would move back to Chicago P.D. as a series regular for season five. In July 2017, Tracy Spiridakos was promoted to series regular as Det. Hailey Upton after a three-episode guest stint in season four. On April 19, 2019, NBC announced that Seda would leave the series again at the end of the sixth season. In July 2022, Benjamin Levy Aguilar, who portrayed Officer Dante Torres in one episode in season 9, is upgraded to series regular. On August 29, 2022, it was announced that Jesse Lee Soffer would be leaving the drama during season ten. On October 24, 2023, it was reported that Spiridakos would be leaving the drama during season eleven. In July 2024, it was announced that Toya Turner would join as a new series regular. In June 2025, it was reported that Turner would depart the series after one season. In July 2025, it was reported that Arienne Mandi joined the cast as a new series regular for the thirteenth season. In October 2025, it was reported that Flueger would be taking a leave of absence to deal with a personal matter. In July 2026, it was reported that LaRoyce Hawkins would depart the series after thirteen seasons, with him planning to leave in the beginning of the fourteenth season.

Reception

Reviews

Chicago P.D. has received mixed reviews from critics. Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the drama a rating of 50 based on 22 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Rotten Tomatoes gives season 1 a rating of 61% based on reviews from 31 critics, with an average rating of 5.29/10 and a consensus which states "Though it suggests potential for greater success, Chicago P.D. is ultimately an old school cop show, content to mimic Hill Street Blues and other classic procedurals".

Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly gave the drama a favorable review: "It's hard to imagine the series capturing the compelling, can't-watch-just-one magic that makes the Law & Order franchise so marathonable, but it moves just fast enough to keep you from changing the channel in search of an SVU re-run." Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times also gave the series a positive review when it premiered on January 8: "Chicago P.D. is, in many ways, a throwback to an earlier, male-dominated era of crime shows, yet it carves out room for strong female characters who are good at their jobs and taken seriously by their colleagues." Robert Bianco of USA Today expressed disappointment: "When did Wolf's work, which used to show some grace and wit, become this ugly, plodding and crass?"

Chicago P.D. has been criticized by some for glorifying police brutality, particularly in the context of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Broadcast and streaming

US: Chicago P.D. airs new episodes on NBC. Reruns of the show air on NBC's sister networks USA and Oxygen. On USA, it airs Mondays from 9 am to 8 pm ET before Monday Night Raw, and on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 am to 11 pm ET. On Oxygen, it airs Thursdays from 10 am to 2 am ET. Reruns are aired Tuesday evenings from 8 pm to 9 pm ET on MyNetworkTV and all day Thursday from 11 am to 3 am ET on Ion. Chicago P.D. is also available through electronic sell-through platforms including iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, and Vudu. The series is also available for streaming on Peacock along with Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Canada: Chicago P.D. was broadcast on Global for six seasons, then moved to Citytv. Episodes for the sixth season in the Atlantic time zone air three hours ahead of the U.S. eastern/central broadcast due to the time difference.

UK: Chicago P.D. is broadcast on 5USA in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The first season aired Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. between July 16 and October 22, 2014. Repeats were later broadcast on parent channel, Channel 5, prior to the broadcast of the second season beginning April 8, 2015, From late 2019, the show now airs on Sky Witness.

Australia: Chicago P.D. premiered on the Universal Channel on November 20, 2014.

Southeast Asia: Chicago P.D. premiered on the HITS Now on February 6, 2023.