Chicago PD casts Third Watch alum Michael Beach in season 7 role

Chicago PD season 7 has a new crime boss. NBC has announced that Third Watch actor Michael Beach has been cast in a powerful recurring role.

Another new actor is coming to Chicago PD this season. First there was the addition of Paul Adelstein as the interim superintendent, then Lisseth Chavez as undercover cop Vanessa Rojas, and now the NBC drama has recruited Third Watch alum Michael Beach.

Beach will play Darius Walker, a crime boss who has his sights set on helping the city of Chicago. According to TVLine, Walker intends to “revitalize the African-American community” by putting his money where his mouth is.

He’s described as a philanthropic drug dealer with business savvy, who will put his profits back into the Windy City to help businesses grow and entrepreneurs thrive.

As for what that means in season 7, that’s up to interpretation. We all know how Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) likes to bend the rules when it comes to corrupt criminals. Sometimes he busts them, and sometimes he’s in bed with them.

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That’s because Voight has crossed the line between good and dirty cop over the years. Remember his deal with Internal Affairs to get his badge back in season 1? Or those few times he got known drug dealer Maurice Owens off the hook due to said deal during that same season?

Who’s to say Voight won’t get wrapped in another shady deal with a man in power? Or will things go in the complete opposite direction and the Intelligence unit has run-ins with Darius Walker that are less than cordial?

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There’s also a third option: since Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda) will not be back for season 7, perhaps Darius Walker will continue that back-and-forth that Voight and Antonio had while discussing—or rather disagreeing about—how things work in Chicago.

If Michael Beach’s name sounds familiar, it’s not the first time he’s nabbed a big role in an NBC program. People may remember him on the popular first responder series Third Watch as NYFD paramedic Monte “Doc” Parker, or in the 2014 drama Crisis as FBI Director Olsen. He even did a stint on ER as Al Boulet, the husband of physician’s assistant Jeanie Boulet (Gloria Reuben).

Safe to say that since he’s been part of a first responder drama with Third Watch, a hostage thriller in Crisis, and played within the medical field in ER, he’ll fit right into the crime-ridden world of Chicago PD.

Beach is also known for his portrayal of activist leader Charles Pike on the CW sci-fi series The 100. His other recent roles include Deep Blue Sea 2 (you can watch him in a clip from that below) and ironically playing a detective on the HBO series Barry. And he has a bit of a history of being on the right side of the law, which makes it all the more fun to see what he’ll do playing the bad guy in One Chicago.

Over his lengthy career, Michael Beach has portrayed 15 fire, police, detective, or commander characters in a variety of TV shows and movies. Some of include Under Suspicion as Detective Desmond Beck, Patriots Day as Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Detective Sendal in Insidious: Chapter 2, Colonel Abe Ellis in Stargate Atlantis, Detective Williams in Southland and Commander West in The Rookie.

In addition to his Chicago PD season 7 role, he’ll appear alongside Lizzy Caplan and Octavia Spencer in the upcoming AppleTV+ series Truth Be Told. He’s also just finished the action-comedy flick Super Intelligence, where he will play General Gomez.

While he may be on the other side of the law this time around, we’re excited to see Michael Beach portray another hard-hitting character that is sure to make an impact on the Intelligence Unit and the city of Chicago. Chicago PD’s seventh season premieres Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. on NBC.

For the latest Chicago PD season 7 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago PD category at One Chicago Center.