5 Chicago P.D. Characters Who Could Be Upton’s Replacement In Season 12, Ranked By Likelihood

Summary

• Finding a replacement for Upton won’t be easy for Voight, who relied on her as a surrogate daughter in the Intelligence Unit.
• Sean Roman’s return could shake things up with Burgess and Ruzek’s engagement, revealing cracks in their relationship.
• Josephine Petrovitch, Upton’s close friend, has the potential to fill her shoes, but struggles with alcoholism could pose a challenge.

There are several Chicago PD characters who could replace Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) now that she has left the series. Upton was a significant character from seasons 4 to 11, but left the Intelligence Unit in search of a more fulfilling job after a near-death experience at the hands of a serial killer. Her departure leaves a hole in the Intelligence Unit that Voight will need to fill either with a new detective or a promotion of someone already in the department.

Chicago PD has not yet found a replacement for Upton, and it won’t be easy to fill her shoes. Upton was a skilled cop, but even more importantly, she had a close relationship with Hank Voight (Jason Beghe). Voight considered her a surrogate daughter; Upton, returning the sentiment, looked out for him in ways other cops couldn’t and confronted him whenever his behavior had gone too far. Although she left with Voight’s blessing, he will likely miss her, and he will need someone else to take on the role of his second-in-command as soon as possible. The writers need to make a decision soon as Chicago PD is one of the One Chicago universe shows renewed for a new season.

5 Sean Roman (Brian Geraghty)

Roman Hasn’t Been Seen In Years But Could Shake Things Up In a Big Way

Sean Roman is a long shot, but he could be an interesting replacement for Upton. Most of Roman’s storylines revolved around his contentious relationship with Burgess. They had a love/hate relationship that eventually turned into romance, and he and Ruzek were constantly butting heads because of Roman’s treatment of Burgess. This dynamic would be even more intense if Roman were to return now, considering that Ruzek and Burgess are engaged. Roman could expose cracks in Burgess and Ruzek’s foundation that threaten their attempt to make it to the altar, leading to powerful relationship drama.

Burgess and Ruzek have been engaged before, but failed to go through with their planned wedding.

Storywise, the best reason to bring Roman back is that he has extensive experience with the Intelligence Unit. He already knows the team and the job requirements, so there would be little to no need for a period of adjustment. However, it might be difficult to bring him back considering how his storyline ended. Roman was removed from active duty because of nerve damage in his arm due to getting shot and chose to leave Chicago rather than take a desk job, so there would need to be a believable explanation for why he is able to return to duty.

4 Vanessa Rojas (Lisseth Chavez)

Chicago PD Could Make Up for Wasting Rojas’ Potential During Her Earlier Appearances

If Chicago PD wants to bring back a past character, Rojas is a somewhat more likely choice than Roman. Unlike him, she has a connection to Upton, as Upton evaluated her fitness to work at Intelligence and gave Voight a positive recommendation, leading to Rojas’ hire. Additionally, Rojas lived with Upton for a while because she had no place to stay after joining the unit. These interactions were part of an interesting storyline that never reached its full potential because Rojas transferred out after only one year in Intelligence.

Rojas’ abrupt departure was one of Chicago PD’s most disappointing developments. She was a compelling character who brought a unique perspective to the unit, as she was a former foster child and runaway who had gotten herself into trouble living on the streets before deciding to join the police academy. Her knowledge of the streets helped her empathize with suspects and understand their decisions and also made her particularly skilled at undercover work.

Chicago PD’s explanation for what happened to Rojas had to be thrown together quickly because Chavez got a part in Legends of Tomorrow, but the producers had more storylines planned for her character. These storylines, particularly the plan to set her up as a love interest for Kevin Atwater, could be explored now if Rojas was to return to the unit. Additionally, having an officer like Rojas return is a better choice than hiring someone new who would have to find their footing with the rest of the team.

Getting Rojas back would be a perfect solution, but it is not the most likely because Chavez is again in another series. She has a regular role on ABC’s The Rookie, which would make it difficult for her to return to Chicago PD. Theoretically, she could do double duty, but it might prove too difficult to coordinate schedules of two shows on two different networks, assuming Chavez is interested in reprising her Chicago PD role. Thus, Rojas’ potential will likely remain untapped even though there is room in the cast to include her if the logistics can be worked out.

Additionally, many of Rojas’ characteristics overlap with relative newcomer Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar). Torres is also a product of the streets, living in the projects with his mother and clashing with neighbors he used to consider friends before he became a cop, and is equally gifted at undercover work. Thus, at this point it may be redundant for Rojas to reappear, presenting an additional obstacle to reintroducing her to the cast for season 12. Conversely, Rojas’ similar background could lead to interesting interactions with Torres, who might resent assumptions that she knows anything about him or his life.

3 Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda)

Dawson Could Return from Rehab Ready to Get Back To Work

Antonio Dawson was a superstar cop during his run, until he developed an opioid addiction. His addiction made him unstable and unreliable, and most of his final season was spent dealing with the fallout of a fatal mistake he made. After his daughter was kidnapped, Dawson confronted the abductor himself and pushed him out a window while high on painkillers. Voight and Ruzek tried to cover for him, which left him wracked with guilt and even more susceptible to painkiller abuse. After Ruzek was arrested unfairly in connection with this incident, Dawson fell back into drug use before disappearing altogether.

After Dawson’s disappearance, Voight revealed that he had secretly taken him to rehab, and later he supposedly resigned and moved to Puerto Rico to get additional help. This bleak ending could easily be reversed; five years have gone by, so Dawson could have recovered sufficiently to be ready to return to police work. This would be an ideal situation, as he knows the ins and outs of the Intelligence Unit and has a close working relationship with Voight. Dawson’s return would also allow for plenty of drama, considering the circumstances of his departure and Ruzek’s likely distrust of him.

Dawson’s chances of returning to Chicago PD are better than some others. The reason he was written out in the first place was that Jon Seda had landed a role on La Brea. However, La Brea is no longer producing new episodes, which frees Seda to return to Chicago PD, and the actor has indicated that he would be open to a return. Thus, the timing could work out perfectly for Dawson to leave his pain in the past and return to regular police work with the Intelligence Unit now that Upton has vacated her spot in the department.

2 Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati)

Voight Could Decide To Live With A Smaller Staff

Rather than hiring or rehiring another detective, Voight could decide to leave the open space in case Upton ever decides to come back, instead relying on another member of the unit to be his right hand the way Upton was. In this case, Kim Burgess is the most likely choice because she has been with the unit almost from the beginning and has demonstrated repeatedly that Voight can trust her.

Burgess was a patrol officer who eventually moved up to Intelligence. Over the years, she has earned Platt’s respect, which is not easy to do. This demonstrates that she has the strength of character needed to deal with Voight. She also is a seasoned detective who demonstrates empathy for suspects and witnesses to get them to talk and has survived more than one near-death experience, making her tough enough to do the job Voight expects of his number two officer.

If Burgess were to be promoted to Voight’s right-hand woman, it could put some interesting, fresh wrinkles into her relationship with Ruzek. Burgess and Ruzek have struggled to stay together and sometimes have conflicts over how to best raise their adopted daughter, Makayla. Ruzek being passed over in favor of Burgess would create extra tension in their relationship and could take their story in a different direction.

1 Josephine Petrovitch (Bojana Novakovic)

Petrovitch Became Upton’s Best Friend, Making Her an Ideal Replacement

Upton and Petrovitch became close during Upton’s final season, making Petrovitch the ideal candidate to replace her. Petrovitch not only understood how Upton thought but was the only person who could confront her about behaviors such as working too much to avoid past pain. This suggests that Petrovitch can stand up to Voight when necessary, which was one of the most important aspects of Upton’s role. She also should be able to see through suspects when they are BSing her and use her ability to develop rapport to pressure them to talk.

The only barrier to Chicago PD replacing Upton with Petrovitch is that Petrovitch has her own demons to deal with. Upton forced her into rehab for her alcoholism, but she checked out early to work on a case, suggesting she was replacing alcohol with work. If she relapses, that could spell disaster for any cops in the unit that depend on her. However, this risk could make for dynamic storytelling on top of the other compelling reasons to move her into Upton’s old role.

Chicago PD
season 11 is streaming on Peacock.