‘Chicago P.D.’: Jon Seda Breaks Silence on Surprise Exit

Jon Seda, a longtime fixture in Dick Wolf’s Chicago franchise, broke his silence on his departure […]

April 20, 2019, 8:07pm

Jon Seda, a longtime fixture in Dick Wolf’s Chicago franchise, broke his silence on his departure from Chicago P.D. Sunday with an emotional message to fans.

It’s been an honor portraying Det. Antonio Dawson in the #OneChicago world. To my cast #Family, I’ll always treasure the time and stories we shared. To all you #chihards out there, THANK YOU for being the best of fans! We’ll Always have CHICAGO 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/pJRwphtMAu
— Jon Seda (@JonSeda) April 20, 2019

“It’s been an honor portraying Det. Antonio Dawson in the #OneChicago world,” Seda wrote. “To my cast #Family, I’ll always treasure the time and stories we shared. To all you #chihards out there, THANK YOU for being the best of fans! We’ll Always have CHICAGO.”

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Seda’s fans thanked him for his performance on the show and wished him luck in the future.

Thank you for 6 awesome seasons! I can’t wait to see what you do next. We will miss you!
— CpdHalstudFan (@CpdHalstudFan) April 20, 2019

On Friday night, news broke that Seda will not be back for the next season of Chicago P.D. Chicago Med stars Colin Donnell and Norma Kuhlin are also not returning to their show in the fall.

I appreciate you and your portrayal of Antonio more than you can possibly imagaine. Antonio saved my life in January and for that I will always be grateful. While my heart is broken, I still wish you luck and can’t wait to see what you do next. Thank you for 7 years ❤️😭💔🙌🏻
— Mandi Moore (@msmandijmoore) April 20, 2019

Seda made his first appearance in the Chicago-verse as Detective Antonio Dawson — the brother of Monica Raymund’s character — in the first season of Chicago Fire back in 2012. He became one of the lead stars on Chicago P.D., which launched the following season. Dawson later became a main character on the short-lived Chicago Justice, but was brought back to P.D. after that show was cancelled. Although Seda did not appear in Chicago Med, he was featured in the 2016 Law & Order: SVU crossover episode “Nationwide Manhunt.”

It is not clear how Dawson will leave the series. According to Deadline, the Chicago producers felt the character was “played out,” but were leaving the doors open for a guest appearance at a later date.

NBC renewed all three Chicago shows in February. They air back-to-back-to-back on Wednesday nights, beginning with Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET. Their season finales are scheduled for May 22.

The next new episode of P.D. is “What Could Have Been,” which airs on April 24. In the episode, the Chicago Police Intelligence team investigates the murder of Burgess’ boyfriend, and the case threatens to dig up an unsettling truth for her.

Chicago P.D. also stars Jason Beghe as Hank Voight, Jesse Lee Soffer as Jay Halstead, Patrick John Flueger as Adam Ruzek, Marina Squerciati as Kim Burgess, LaRoyce Hawkins as Kevin Atwater, Amy Morton as Trudy Platt and Elias Koteas as Alvin Olinsky.

Photo credit: NBC