First-look images for Chicago PD season 10 reveal Jay Halstead’s (Jesse Lee Soffer) final episodes.
Hank Voight’s Intelligence wrapped up season 9 in an action-packed way, successfully taking down Escano and Los Temidos. After the One Chicago franchise’s mandatory summer break, Chicago PD is set to kick off its monumental season 10 this September 2022.
It will be bittersweet when the police procedural kicks off its upcoming batch of episodes, as Jesse Lee Soffer will exit Chicago PD sometime in the middle of season 10. This news was a massive shock for many fans, who were just getting excited about what comes next for Halstead. The Intelligence detective had a busy season 9, both personally and professionally. Firstly, he married Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and made a big step in his relationship with Voight after a decade of working together. Suffice to say, Halstead is at an interesting juncture in his life in the show, but unfortunately, Chicago PD won’t have the time to see what lies ahead for the character.
Ahead of its September 2022 premiere, NBC (via TVLine) shares the first look at the Chicago PD season 10 premiere. The set of promotional stills primarily shows Voight and Intelligence working on a case both on the streets and back at their precinct. Obviously, the biggest takeaway from these photos is seeing Halstead in his last few cases with his team.
NBC has been mum about Soffer’s impending exit from Chicago PD. Aside from reports that the actor’s final outing will be sometime this fall, it’s uncertain exactly how and when this will pan out. These images barely hint at anything about Halstead leaving Intelligence, as it appears to be a normal operation for the whole team. That being said, as NBC starts to market the One Chicago franchise’s upcoming return, they will have to ultimately give additional details about what to expect from Soffer’s last episodes as Halstead in Chicago PD.
While NBC hasn’t released much about Soffer’s exit, there may have been hints about how Halstead’s final stint with the Intelligence. The first group Chicago PD season 10 poster puts “Upstead” at the center, implying the couple will be significantly focused on leading up to the show’s next major character loss. The show could use Halstead’s impending departure from Intelligence as the launching pad for Upton’s next arc in the series. Without her husband, she becomes Voight’s second-in-command, meaning she is poised to inherit the team if the sergeant decides to retire from the Force. The question now is if this potential career development for Upton is worth losing Halstead for.