'Chicago P.D.' Showrunner Teases New Character After Tracy Spiridakos Exit

Someone new might be joining the Intelligence Unit. It was previously announced that Tracy Spiridakos will be exiting Chicago P.D. during its 11th season. The actress joined the NBC drama as Detective Hailey Upton in Season 4 in a recurring role, before being bumped up to series regular for Season 5 when Sophia Bush left. Recent details about Spiridakos' exit revealed that she won't be leaving until much later in the 13-episode season, but it's possible that the show could bring on someone as a replacement.

Showrunner Gwen Sigan told TVLine, "We're pretty lean right now" in regards to adding a new cop to District 21's Intelligence Unit. Spoilers ahead for the Season 11 premiere, which saw Intelligence not one but two people down. Patrick John Flueger's Adam Ruzek was still in recovery after getting shot in the Season 10 finale, while Benjamin Levy Aguilar's Dante Torres was revealed to be away at the moment. Jason Beghe's Hank Voight had been stalling on recruiting someone new to fill in for Adam, and it's likely he will have to go through the same thing once Upton leaves, if not before.

Will Chicago P.D. soon be adding on a new cast member? "I think we will," Sigan revealed. "We've got space for another, and it would be really fun to have someone new come in. It always offers up so many opportunities for our existing characters to interact with someone new, so yes, I hope so."

Even if Chicago P.D. does add a new cast member, it would be pretty hard to replace both Spiridakos and Hailey. It would be interesting to see who joins Intelligence and what they will bring to the table, but they also don't have to be a series regular. They could just be recurring and not be a full-time cop or detective. At the very least, hopefully, if they do bring someone new on, they recur at first, even if it's just a few episodes. That way, fans will be able to get a feel for them and see how they will turn out. Either way, this season should definitely be interesting.

As of now, it's unknown how many episodes exactly Tracy Spiridakos will be in, as the One Chicago and Law & Order stars will be appearing in fewer episodes due to budget cuts. It's also hard to predict how her story will wrap up, but hopefully, it will conclude in a way that Spiridakos, Hailey, and the fans deserve. As for Intelligence's possible new member, fans will just have to watch new episodes of Chicago P.D. on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC to see what happens.