After a season of upheaval, Chicago P.D. is gearing up for even more drama, romance and crime solving action during the latter half of season 12.
“We have quite a lot coming with our new deputy chief character, Shawn Hatosy’s Reid,” Chicago P.D. showrunner Gwen Sigan exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, January 7. “We saw in the midseason finale, he kind of makes this statement to Voight like, ‘We’re gonna be friends,’ but it’s clearly a friendship of ownership and, like, leverage.”
Sigan said it’s been “really fun to write” the face-off between Deputy Chief Charlie Reid (Hatosy), who joined the series this season, and Intelligence Unit chief Hank Voight (Jason Beghe).
She indicated that the pair’s leadership styles “changes the dynamics quite a lot in the unit” moving ahead.
Sigan said that the second half of the season would also finally depict Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Adam Ruzek (Patrick Flueger) getting married following their third engagement during season 11.
The showrunner told Us that Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) would continue to suffer a “existential crisis and a crisis of faith” in the upcoming episode, adding that Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) will receive “some romance” once again.
“We’ve got a little bit of everything,” Sigan added. “Things will keep changing and evolving for the unit for sure.”
Scroll down for everything Us heard from Chicago P.D.’s showrunner regarding the remainder of season 12:
Cook’s Story Will Come to Light
After joining the Intelligence Unit early this season, viewers will finally get a fuller sense of who Kiana Cook (Toya Turner) is and where she hails from.
“Episode 9 is a Cook episode,” Sigan told Us, alluding to the midseason debut, which airs on Wednesday, January 8. “You’re getting to meet a lot of her family members actually in this episode, which is fun. And you’re starting to learn about her past and her backgrounds and the multiple worlds that she belongs to and how radically different they are from one other.”
Sigan stated that Cook’s history will explain why she is so intent on being there and performing “the job well.” She hinted that the show’s return is a “action ride” for Cook and the remainder of the season would reveal more “background on her and who she is and why she’s really unique for the unit.”
Chief Reid Goes Toe to Toe With Voight
Throughout season 12, Reid has been aware of everything Voight’s crew is doing — the good and the bad — and has looked the other way. However, Sigan told Us that his choice not to condemn the squad will come at a price.
“He’s a character that plays so many of his cards so close to the vest. And it’s tough for Voight to really read him,” the showrunner said of Reid, noting, “We’ve always seen Voight kind of be a little of the all-knowing. So to have it be somebody else is incredibly fun.”
She dubbed Reid a “fun house mirror to Voight,” meaning that the chief “operates in a way that Voight used to” but is “enhanced and exaggerated.”
“We’ll get to learn more and more about him and his motivations throughout the season,” Sigan teased. “But it’s definitely a cat and mouse game and … it’s certainly a friendship that has a lot of strings attached.”
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Burgess Is Doing It Her Way
In season 12, episode 6, Burgess made detective, and fans will see her in action throughout the second half of the season.
“There’s this really easy transition of her just taking that leadership role of kind of being the one that sort of leads the charge,” Sigan added. “You’ll see her giving commands more often and certainly being a bit, perhaps, overwhelmed or taken aback by just how much [paperwork and] more responsibility [she has].”
While Burgess will have a lot to handle, she finds her “groove” and a style of leadership that Sigan said is “so different” than that of prior detectives Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer).
“It feels like her own thing, which is much more, ‘I’m still your peer, but I am gonna give you orders now. I’m gonna now direct a bit more,’” Sigan continued. “Everybody, I think, is so supportive and just falling into those roles, too.”
Torres Is ‘Not Great’
During the midseason finale, which aired in November 2024, Torres’ prior romance with informant Gloria Perez (Yara Martinez) came to light when she was caught running a narcotics enterprise in Chicago. Gloria died after aiding the Intelligence Unit, and much to his surprise, Torres wasn’t disciplined by the head for his misbehavior.
Torres, meanwhile, is not doing “great” when the show returns. “It triggered a lot for him,” Sigan said of the affair and Gloria’s death, saying that Torres’ past will continue to be probed.
“[We reveal] why he was ever attracted to this woman and why he got in this affair and sort of the trauma that leads all the way back to his childhood,” she told Us. “And then also how present events sort of trigger a bit of a crisis of faith.”
Atwater’s Love Story Isn’t Over
Atwater committed to a no-strings-attached relationship with Valeria “Val” Soto (Natalee Linez) during season 12, episode 3, and according to Sigan, that agreement may alter when Val returns in forthcoming episodes.
“The nice thing about that relationship was the way it starts is almost this, like, ‘We’re gonna do something for the pair of us that’s just for us,’” she added. “But then, obviously, as time has gone on, how has that morphed and grown?”
Atwater committed to a no-strings-attached relationship with Valeria “Val” Soto (Natalee Linez) during season 12, episode 3, and according to Sigan, that agreement may alter when Val returns in forthcoming episodes.
“The nice thing about that relationship was the way it starts is almost this, like, ‘We’re gonna do something for the pair of us that’s just for us,’” she added. “But then, obviously, as time has gone on, how has that morphed and grown?”
Burzek Will Get Hitched
Sigan said that the onscreen marriages are a “middle ground” between the two. “It’s been such a long time coming and they have this family — they have [daughter] Mikayla [and] she wants to have her say, and I think she wants a party,” Sigan told Us on Tuesday. “So it, to me, is going to be sort of a middle ground of finding what works for the both of them that isn’t a courthouse wedding, that they can have everyone they love there.”
She stated it should also be a “simple” and “grounded affair,” although the sequences have not been filmed yet. “I don’t know all the details,” Sigan said, adding that she “could see” Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) presiding.
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