What we’re most looking forward to from One Chicago season premieres

Chicago PD season 8

The one thing we want most from Chicago PD, and really from the entire One Chicago franchise, is a proper and timely resolution to Kevin Atwater’s (LaRoyce Hawkins) storyline.

This plot is critical to the show on many levels. It’s a feature storyline for Atwater, who has usually been among the show’s most underutilized characters; he’s unquestionably front and center now and audiences want to see more of that. LaRoyce Hawkins can do incredible things if and when he is given the opportunity. It would drive fans crazy if he got another story and then the show didn’t do much with it after the season 7 cliffhanger.

In a big-picture sense, this plotline about racism within the police department and misconduct by police officers is incredibly relevant given current events. The show has been talking about being timely for seasons now. If it really wants to be timely, then it needs to take note of current issues and be thorough with this storyline. Something quickly wrapped up or over-simplified would come off as the writers dismissing topics that are meaningful to a lot of people.

Lastly, the series has been looking for something to shake itself up. It’s turned over numerous cast members in the last few seasons (most recently Lisseth Chavez, who will not return as Vanessa Rojas after just one cycle). This plotline could be explosive if the writers really go for it. It’s Atwater, and Intelligence by extension, going publicly head-to-head with other cops and calling out their behavior. There’s so much that could come out of it, including long-term changes to the series as far as how Intelligence interacts with patrol officers.

It all adds up to every reason to seize this moment and tell a great story, and we want Chicago PD to floor us when it returns.

For the latest Chicago PD season 8 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago PD category at One Chicago Center.