We have been waiting a long, long time to see Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) get married. They have had a very bumpy road to the altar, but they have persevered, and we couldn't be happier for them. Unfortunately, a lot of the friends they've made along the way have left Chicago PD.
Chicago Fire and Chicago Med have proven that weddings are as good a reason as any to bring back beloved characters. We saw Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer) return in order to serve as the best man for his buddy, Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney), on Fire, and we're hoping Chicago PD uses their big union to do something similar. These are the characters we have on our fantasy guest list.
Hailey Upton
Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) is the most recent IU member to leave the show, and she got to have a front row seat as Burgess and Ruzek fell in love. We know she left Chicago behind at the end of the season 11 finale, but what are friends for if not flying back to one's old home to celebrate a wedding?
Spiridakos made it clear that she was pleased with the resolution of her character's arc, but she also left the door open for a potential return. “I would love to reappear, that would be amazing," she said to Deadline in May 2024. "I love this whole group of people." We think a wedding would be a perfect way to bring Upton back while maintaining the power of her original exit.
Antonio Dawson
Antonio Dawson probably tops the list of characters that Chicago PD fans want to see return. The actor who plays him, Jon Seda, has remained close friends with the cast, and unlike Elias Koteas, his character is still alive and well. A return trip to celebrate Burgess and Ruzek would make a lot of sense since he spent years working alongside them.
Like Spiridakos, Seda has made it clear that he would be willing to return to Chicago PD if the right situation arose. "Antonio is still alive," he told us back in February. "If they called me and said, 'Hey, we'd love to talk about you coming in for even just one scene or two' or whatever, I totally would be down with it."
Kenny Rixton
Remember this guy? Kenny Rixton (Nick Wechsler) was a former narcotics officer who was tasked with replacing Ruzek when the latter went on an undercover mission in season 4. The character was not the most well-liked off the bat, but he eventually grew on the IU team, to the point where Voight (Beghe) didn't want to fire him.
Ruzek eventually got his IU gig back, though, because Rixton agreed to take a role with another narcotics unit. He also shared that his father and Ruzek's father used to work together in the CPD. The character proved to be a stand up guy, and had he not made a career pivot, it's difficult to say whether Ruzek and Burgess bond and eventually get engaged. Sounds like a worthy invite to us.
Jay Halstead
I mean, c'mon. We would all like to see what it would be like if Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) decided to come back from his tenure in Bolivia and attend his friends' wedding. Soffer remains close with the PD cast, and has even directed episodes since departing the show in season 10.
That said, Halstead couldn't be bothered to return to the Windy City to maintain his own marriage, so it would be difficult to justify his willingness to travel for a wedding of all things. We will hold out hope, even if this wish list entry is the least likely.