Chicago P.D. hit a milestone that few shows last long enough to reach earlier in Season 10, with the 200th episode that put Burgess in particular through the wringer. The show made it to 200 episodes in a season that had already seen a lot of change thanks to the departure of Jay Halstead when he decided to return to the military, to the dismay of (and without consulting) his wife. The crime drama has continued without Jesse Lee Soffer on screen as the character, but he returned to direct a recent episode. Speaking with CinemaBlend, he reflected on his longtime show reaching that milestone!
Although Halstead left Upton and Chicago behind just a few episodes into Season 10, Soffer wasn’t gone from Chicago P.D. for long before he was back to start shadowing to prepare for his directing debut, and there were some perks from spending so much time as the character. Spending time on P.D. behind the scenes meant that he was on set for the 200th episode even though Halstead didn’t make an appearance, and he shared what it was like to be present for the filming of the milestone:
It was great. It was awesome. It's such a testament to the cast and the crew. We have the hardest-working crew in the business, I think, just because of the conditions we're in, and the schedule sometimes is so grueling to turn out these episodes, 20 of them, 22 of them a year. Everyone deserves a lot of recognition for ten seasons. It's a testament to how hard everyone works, including the producers and the writers. It's everybody. It's awesome.
It’s a rare show that lasts long enough for ten seasons (and counting) and 200+ episodes, let alone with the COVID production shutdowns that cut the seventh season short and turned what was supposed to be a normal episode into the season finale. Jesse Lee Soffer would know better than most about the hard work that has gone into making Chicago P.D. for so many years, and the recent renewal (celebrated by P.D.’s LaRoyce Hawkins) means that the action will keep going into the 2023-2024 TV season.
Whether or not Halstead will appear as part of Season 11 in the 2023-2024 TV season is an entirely different question, and one not entirely answered by how P.D. said goodbye to the character in the first half of the season. At the time, he fully intended to come home to Upton at some point, but a more recent episode revealed that he prolonged his stint in the army without telling her, let alone asking her.
Jesse Lee Soffer opened up about how he feels about being asked if he’ll return as Jay Halstead, but only time will tell if P.D. fans see him again. Even after the renewals for all three One Chicago shows (as well for the three FBI and three Law & Order series), there are some big questions about the future of the Wolf Entertainment TV universe, with comments from some stars potentially shedding light on answers. As for the actor-turned-director being present behind the scenes for the 200th episode, former co-star Marina Squerciati shared a look on Instagram:
For now, Chicago P.D. is on a brief break before returning with its next new episode of Season 10 on Wednesday, May 3 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, following Chicago Fire (which just brought back Jesse Spencer and may be setting one character up for a major crisis) at 9 p.m. and Chicago Med (which is digging deep into Hannah’s backstory) at 8 p.m. If you want to revisit Jesse Lee Soffer’s episode of P.D. as a director, called “Deadlocked,” you can find it streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
