Chicago PD season 6 midseason report: Kevin Atwater

What it means

If you’re one of the many One Chicago fans who have wanted more Kevin Atwater on Chicago PD, you have to be pretty happy with this season. Atwater is still not there yet, but the writers should get credit for throwing him some good scenes—more than he had by this time last season.

LaRoyce Hawkins was excellent in the Atwater-centric episode, but there are a few things about the episode worth discussing further. First, why have all the recent Atwater episodes involved a terrible thing happening to him? Chicago PD has had Atwater’s family threatened, Atwater being kidnapped, and now Atwater’s girlfriend getting arrested.

It’s great that the writers are willing to tell stories for this character, but it’s also frustrating that the only stories they’re telling involve him being hurt.

Likewise, most of his stories involve some kind of racial component. This is understandable since Kevin Atwater is the only main character of color on Chicago PD, but at the same time, that does not mean he has to be the character the show always uses when there’s an issue about race. His skin color is only part of who he is. It’d be fantastic to see an episode about Atwater in the rest of the season where his race isn’t a talking point.

That aside, the season seems to be recognizing how important Atwater is to the Intelligence Unit and to the fans. It’s giving him material that’s significant. That trend needs to continue when new episodes start in January.