Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) was always going to be a tough act to follow. She had the near impossible task of replacing Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush), and she managed to pull it off by making it clear that she was a wholly different kind of officer.
Upton decided to leave the IU in the season 11 finale, which means the Chicago PD team is tasked with having to pull off a casting replacement miracle a second time. And it seems as though they've managed to do it with Kiana Cook (Toya Turner). The character is the latest addition to the IU, but she has quickly established herself as a force to be reckoned with.
Kiana Cook has stepped into the Upton role
Cook's introduction was interesting, because she wasn't initially posed as Upton's replacement. It seemed, for a hot second, like Emily Martel (Victoria Cartagena) would be poised to take over, but she was killed in the line of duty in the same episode in which she was introduced. It was a shocking twist, and once that served to remind fans how dangerous working with the IU can be.
The red herring of Martel, however, has allowed Cook to develop her own character without having to directly contend with the legacy of Upton. She's been able to develop her own relationships, whether it her her mentor-protege dynamic with Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) or her more peer-based friendship with Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar).
It helps that the writing for Cook differs greatly from Upton as well. Upton was always presented as more of an investigator and interrogator, but Cook is all in on the action. Chicago PD showrunner Gwen Sigan said as much during a TV Line interview in September.
The character is more action-oriented
"She’s very cool. She’s very different," Sigan asserted. "She’s coming from patrol, which is nice. She’s not a brand-new officer... [She's] not scared to get in there, to get messy. She likes to run and gun, to be in the thick of it."
Sigan also noted that Kiana Cook is not a rookie, which is an important distinction from some of the other officers who came come through IU over the years. She has experience in the field and in other divisions, so she knows how to find solutions within otherwise dire situations.
Cook hasn't gotten as much screen time as her more established peers on Chicago PD, but there's a general sense of intrigue around her character, and how she will help to move the show further into its second decade on NBC. Lightning can strike twice, it seems.