Chicago PD season 6 character preview: Hailey Upton

What should happen

With all of that first season groundwork out of the way, Chicago PD season 6 should be the one where Hailey Upton really hits her stride. There’s still more to learn about her, but the show has established the important facts and can now let other information be revealed organically, rather than feeling the need to do specific backstory episodes.

Also, she dealt with some pretty heavy baggage during the fifth season. She got justice for her old partner, who was also someone she loved (or at least as much justice as she could realistically get) while also getting a reality check about the dark side of police work. Whether it was confirming her belief that Sean McGrady wasn’t the man everyone else thought he was, or swallowing her morals when Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) convinced her to bury that information, Upton was pushed closer to the grey last season.

So she now knows the realities of the world she’s living in. That doesn’t mean she should totally change. What makes Upton interesting is how her moral code clashes with the team, and given that Intelligence is founded on a principle of being loyal and falling in line, it’s good for Chicago PD to have one character who doesn’t.

The occasional conflict with her teammates would provide a source of good drama for season 6, and Upton also demonstrated great chemistry with Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) that ought to be explored more, too.