Chicago PD’s Elias Koteas starring in new SyFy series Cipher

Elias Koteas is still missed as Alvin Olinsky on Chicago PD, but the actor is moving on to star in SyFy’s new technology drama Cipher.

Alvin Olinsky is gone from Chicago PD, but Elias Koteas could soon be back for One Chicago fans to watch in a new role.

The actor has been cast as a series regular in Cipher, a new pilot for NBC‘s sister channel SyFy. He’s playing the character of Hal Berek, a Texas rancher who is a potential ally for the show’s two main characters.

Cipher tells the story of John (Adrian Grenier of Entourage fame), who loses his wife and then sees his son Asa (Gabriel Bateman) have special technology implanted in his brain.

But John and Asa are soon aware that this technology doesn’t just make Asa a better video game player—it’s put them in the middle of a war against artificial intelligence.

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Cipher comes from Allison Miller, a producer and writer on the CBS All Access series Strange Angel. It’s still in the pilot stage, so the show hasn’t been officially ordered yet.

Deadline was the first to report the news of Elias Koteas joining the cast.

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If the show is picked up to series, it would be the first regular role Koteas has had since Alvin Olinsky was killed off of Chicago PD at the end of season 5.

According to showrunner Rick Eid; it wasn’t Koteas’s choice to leave the One Chicago series; the writers were the ones who decided to have Olinsky die in prison.

That decision continues to be controversial with fans to this day, as many of them still miss Olinsky and his bond with Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), especially since there hasn’t really been any representation of that “old guard” in the Intelligence team anymore.

Though Alvin Olinsky has gotten referenced quite a few times in Chicago PD season 6, his death is clearly not an undercover ploy as some fans speculated; the season opened with Olinsky’s funeral and many characters have mentioned him in the past tense.

It’s only natural that Elias Koteas would go on to find another job; he’s too good of an actor to not be landing on another TV show. What makes this news interesting is that Cipher is so far removed from Chicago PD. It’s not a police show; it’s a sci-fi drama, and his character sounds different from Olinsky.

So if the show gets a first season order, will One Chicago viewers follow Elias Koteas to his new project, just to see what he’s doing? Will they get to see a side of him that we didn’t see in this franchise? Those are all interesting questions, but first fans have to wait and see if SyFy picks up Cipher for a first season.

For the latest Chicago PD season 6 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago PD category at One Chicago Center.