When word broke that Chicago PD would be bidding farewell to original cast member LaRoyce Hawkins early in season 14, fans were understandably shocked and heartbroken. Hawkins has been a core part of the DNA of the show since the very beginning, and his character, Officer Kevin Atwater, is one of the show’s most beloved and popular characters.
The only silver lining in the news that Hawkins would be exiting the show was that fans would get a proper on-screen goodbye for Atwater, rather than the show simply writing him out off-screen. It was promised to fans that Hawkins would return to the show for multiple episodes to wrap up Atwater’s arc, but reports never indicated exactly how many episodes he would appear in. Sadly, it seems that number might be quite limited.
Although NBC has yet to confirm when Hawkins’s final episode will air, all signs are pointing toward Atwater leaving the show within the second episode of the season. That’s right, there is a very real possibility that we will only see Hawkins appear in two season 14 episodes.
The first sign of Hawkins’s departure coming in the second episode of the season came when it was revealed that Jesse Lee Soffer had returned to the set to direct episode 2. While Soffer has directed several episodes of Chicago PD since leaving the show in season 10, the timing of his return to direct the second episode of season 14 immediately seemed to indicate that the creative team wanted to bring in someone special to direct the episode.
It’s not uncommon at all for bigger names to come in to direct major episodes, and Hawkins’s final episode as Atwater certainly will be among the biggest episodes of the show’s season and really in the show’s run. Having Soffer on set to direct Hawkins's final scenes feels truly special and fans are thrilled to know that the episode is in good hands.
Soffer’s return definitely seemed to suggest Hawkins’s farewell could be coming earlier in the season than we’d like, and we now have further evidence to support the sad reality that we likely will bid farewell to Atwater in the second episode of season 14.
On August 13, fitness trainer Marnie Adler posted a video to Instagram to share the story of how she managed to organize a visit to the set of Chicago PD in celebration of her husband’s 50th birthday. In sharing the story of how the trip came together, she recalled that their visit happened to coincide with “a very sensitive day on set” because a character on the show was leaving.
Adler did not mention any character by name, noting that due to NDAs, they could not say a word about what they saw during their visit, but it seems safe to assume she was referring to Hawkins, who is the only Chicago PD actor confirmed to be leaving the show. This is further supported by a photo of a Chicago PD clapperboard, which confirmed they were filming episode 2 at the time of the set visit.
The comments about it being a sensitive day on set definitely seem to support the theory that Hawkins will exit the show after episode 2 and will only appear in two episodes. It’s certainly disappointing that his exit will come so early in the season, but it does track with the franchise’s recent cast exits. Typically when an actor from the One Chicago shows has returned for a wrap-up arc, they appear in one to three episodes before exiting.
Of course, we'll have to wait for NBC to confirm the details surrounding Hawkins’s exit, but all signs seem to be pointing toward Atwater’s sendoff occurring in the second episode of season 14 airing October 14 at 10/9c on NBC.
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