Chicago PD boss reveals why Elias Koteas left the show

Over the course of Chicago PD‘s eight seasons and counting, the series has undergone several shocking cast departures, but it’s hard to argue that any have been more shocking than the exit of Elias Koteas at the conclusion of season 5.

From the very beginning, Koteas was an integral part of the Intelligence Unit as Voight’s (Jason Beghe) righthand man and close confidant, Alvin Olinsky. For more than 100 episodes, Olinsky was a leader and mentor on the team, helping to mold the IU’s up-and-coming members. He didn’t always provide the best advice, but he cared, and he made it easy to care for him as a viewer.

It seemed as though Olinsky would be able to figure his way out of any situation, which is why fans were left in shock when he was killed at the end of season 5, effectively bringing an end to his journey on the show.

Is Elias Koteas coming back to Chicago PD?

Koteas’s departure from the show was one that has left fans talking for years and fans still to this day question why he chose to exit the show. However, as it turns out, the decision to write Olinsky off the show was not made by Koteas.

Following Koteas’s exit from the show back in 2018, showrunner Rick Eid told TVLine that the decision to kill off Olinsky was one the creative team came to which led to Koteas’s exit from the show.

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“It was a decision that evolved organically from the ongoing storyline between Voight and Woods”, Eid explained to the outlet. “The writers and I kept coming back to this idea that Voight’s decision to kill Bingham should cost him something. Over time, we landed on the notion that [Alvin] Olinsky should be the person to pay for Voight’s sin because Voight admired and loved him so much.”

Some actors from the show have chosen to walk away, leaving the writers to scramble and slap together an exit storyline, but Koteas’s exit was dictated by the writers’ decision to bring Olinsky’s journey to a tragic close. “Elias handled the news like a true professional and remained committed to the show and his character until the final shot”, Eid added.

While its possible that Chicago PD could find a way to bring Elias Koteas back as Alvin Olinsky, there does not appear to be any plans for the actor to return to the show and it seems highly unlikely. Too much time has passed, and touching tributes to the character have been made in subtler ways.

While the door was left open for characters such as Sophia Bush’s Erin Lindsay, the fact that the writers killed off Olinsky limits the show’s ability to bring Koteas back for an extended run. Rather, the most likely possibility for a return would likely come in the form of a flashback sequence set before the character’s death, and PD has never really been a flashback-heavy show.

We aren’t going to hold our breath on this one.

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