One Chicago stars who were written off their shows

Elias Koteas

Who he played: Det. Alvin Olinsky on Chicago PD

When he was written out: Koteas was a series regular for the first five seasons, until One Chicago fans were well and truly stunned by Olinsky’s abrupt ending in the season 5 finale (though his last episode on screen was the episode before).

What happened to his character: Having been incarcerated and charged with a murder that Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) committed, Olinsky was stabbed while behind bars and revealed to have died of his injuries. But in the season finale, “Homecoming,” it was revealed that the attack had nothing to do with his current predicament.

He had been targeted by the vengeful relative of someone that Olinsky had helped bring down years earlier; his being in prison just provided a convenient way to get revenge. Voight later murdered the man who’d ordered the hit on Olinsky, which led to the rift between Voight and Antonio that started this season.

Why it happened: To punish Voight, somewhat. Chicago PD showrunner Rick Eid said that the writers felt Voight had to suffer a consequence after everything he’d been through in season 5, so they took away his best friend. If that was the intent, though, it’s hard to visualize since the actual circumstances of Olinsky’s murder had zero association with Voight whatsoever.

Olinsky has been name-checked a couple of times this season, which opened with his memorial service. But fans are still incredibly upset over his death, and the series still has a big hole in it that the character left behind.