Is Jesse Lee Soffer coming back to Chicago PD?

Chicago Fire and PD are going through similar issues. The former is having to contend with the loss of Severide (Taylor Kinney), after the character decided to attend a training program, and the latter is sorting through the loss of Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) after he decided to give up his badge and leave the country.

Chicago Fire has confirmed that Severide will not be returning for the season 11 finale, despite the fan theory that his return would serve as the episode’s climax. No such confirmation has come via Chicago PD, which begs the question: is Halstead aka Soffer coming back?

Is Jay Halstead coming back to Chicago PD?

Soffer has been politely open to the idea of playing Halstead again. “Never say never,” he said to Variety. “I still love it. I still love the fans. And I still love Halstead. Halstead’s always going to be in my blood. That’s never going to change.”

While that may be an encouraging comment in a vacuum, there is lots of additional evidence to suggest that the actor will not be returning to the Windy City anytime soon.

He may have directed a season 10 episode, but he avoided appearing in the show’s 200th episode, and when Halstead was on the phone with Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) during a crucial scene, part of the conversation had to be muffled because Soffer did not provide his voice.

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There’s also the narrative of the crumbling Halstead and Upton marriage, which was really put into focus in the episode “Fight.” Halstead failed to return Upton’s calls, and after she barely escaped a kidnapping with her life intact, she realized that they have officially grown apart.

The episode ended with Upton taking off her wedding ring, with the implication that there will be no Halstead cameo that will salvage their marriage. Things are winding down for them, and the idea of the character making a surprise appearance would just complicate this arc. For all intents and purposes, there will be no Soffer in the season 10 finale.

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