After more than a decade shaping the gritty heart of NBC’s Chicago P.D., the series is heading into Season 13 with its most consequential change yet: Jason Beghe is stepping away from the role of Sergeant Hank Voight. For a show that has long leaned on Voight’s code, contradictions, and commanding presence, this moment isn’t just another cast shuffle — it’s a pivot point that will test how the drama evolves without its most defining figure.
Jason Beghe Steps Away After 12 Seasons
Jason Beghe has anchored Chicago P.D. since its 2014 premiere, crafting a character who is both a mentor and a moral lightning rod. His decision to leave, rooted in personal and creative reasons, arrives without controversy but with undeniable weight. For the creative team led by showrunner Gwen Sigan, it creates a delicate storytelling calculus: how to honor a character central to the show’s DNA while charting a believable, forward-facing path for the Intelligence Unit.
Whether Voight receives a dramatic on-screen farewell or a quieter exit that leaves the door open for future appearances, the handling of his departure will shape the tone of Season 13. Fans will be watching closely for narrative choices that respect Voight’s complicated legacy while making space for new voices to lead.
The Voight Effect: Why This Departure Hits Hard
Voight has never been just another cop on the team. He is the show’s moral accelerant — the center of gravity around which questions of justice, loyalty, and accountability orbit. His willingness to operate in the gray, combined with a fierce sense of protection for his people, set the tenor for the series’ toughest cases and most emotional arcs. For many viewers, Hank Voight wasn’t merely a character; he was Chicago P.D.’s worldview made flesh.
Removing that presence means more than redistributing lines or changing the command structure on paper. It requires a recalibration of theme, tone, and perspective. Season 13 must demonstrate how the Intelligence Unit functions without the man who — for better and worse — has been its compass since day one.
How Voight’s Exit Compares to Kiana Cook’s Departure
The show has weathered cast changes before, but not on this scale. The recent departure of Kiana Cook, portrayed by Toya Turner, underscored how new energy can arrive and fade without fundamentally shifting the series. Cook’s character, introduced in Season 12, offered promise yet didn’t have time to become entwined with the unit’s deepest relationships and long-running storylines. Voight’s absence is categorically different: it touches nearly every thread of the narrative tapestry woven over the past 12 years.
What Showrunner Gwen Sigan Faces Next
Transitioning away from Voight presents both constraints and creative opportunities. The writing team can opt for a decisive, emotionally charged exit that gives closure and galvanizes the unit — or they might choose an open-ended approach that preserves narrative flexibility. Either strategy must also answer a practical question baked into the show’s premise: who leads, and how does that change the way the unit operates?
Shifting these dynamics is not simply a matter of title. Leadership choices will ripple through case strategy, interrogation style, and team culture. The series now has a chance to reframe authority as shared, contested, or earned in new ways.
New Blood: Naomi Kerr Joins the Team
To balance the loss and refresh the ensemble, Season 13 will introduce new faces. Among them is Naomi Kerr, played by Arienne Mandi — a former soldier and contractor whose training and temperament promise a distinct brand of intensity. Her background suggests she may bring a tactical edge, a different moral calculus, and a fresh lens on risk and responsibility.
How Naomi integrates with veterans like Burgess, Atwater, and Upton will be essential. Will her style clash with established rhythms, or will it spark the kind of friction that leads to growth? Either way, audiences can expect new partnerships, new points of view, and a reset of team chemistry that pushes the unit into unfamiliar territory.
From Moral Gray to Ensemble-Driven Storytelling
Without Voight at the center, Chicago P.D. is poised to lean more fully into an ensemble-first approach. That could mean deeper character arcs for Burgess, Atwater, and Upton, with each stepping into moments of leadership and conflict. Thematically, the show may shift from a single powerful protagonist shaping the moral boundaries to a collective negotiating them in real time.
Expect the series to interrogate questions it has long raised — accountability, institutional pressure, the cost of protection — but through multiple perspectives rather than one dominant voice. This could broaden the storytelling palette, allowing the show to explore cases and community impacts with expanded nuance.
Potential Story Paths for Season 13
1. The Command Question
Who takes point? The unit could experiment with rotating leadership, a formal promotion, or a provisional commander tested under fire. Each route offers rich story potential, from internal rivalries to unexpected alliances.
2. Repercussions and Reputation
Voight’s shadow is long. Season 13 may confront how his legacy affects the unit’s relationships with prosecutors, Internal Affairs, and community partners. Past decisions could resurface, forcing the team to reckon with what they inherit — and what they reject.
3. Casework With Consequences
The show’s best episodes fuse high-stakes investigations with personal cost. Expect the writers to double down on that formula, using major cases to test evolving leadership styles and differing ethical lines within the team.
4. One Chicago Connections
Cross-unit collaboration within the One Chicago universe has always expanded the canvas. Strategic crossovers could help bridge the transition, allow characters to seek counsel, and reorient the audience amid shifting power dynamics.
What Fans Should Watch For
Season 13 will likely telegraph its new identity early. Keep an eye on who sets the tone in tense moments, how interrogation scenes are staged, and which characters carry the emotional spine of each episode. Listen for dialogue that wrestles with Voight’s absence rather than ignoring it; the show’s honesty about its own transformation will go a long way toward earning viewer trust.
Equally important is pacing. Chicago P.D. thrives on forward motion, and the series can use that momentum to move confidently into its next chapter — honoring what came before without becoming beholden to it.
Why This Matters for the Future
Chicago P.D. has survived and adapted through cast changes, evolving cultural conversations, and shifting broadcast realities. Yet Voight’s exit marks the end of an era — and the beginning of a reinvention that could define the show’s second decade. If Season 13 embraces its ensemble, invests in character-driven stakes, and confronts Voight’s legacy head-on, it can emerge not as a diminished series but as a reimagined one.
For longtime viewers, the question isn’t whether the show can go on; it’s how it chooses to grow. If Chicago P.D. uses this moment to broaden its lens, deepen its moral inquiry, and elevate new leaders, the Intelligence Unit may find a future that feels both true to its roots and genuinely new. That’s a high bar — and an exciting one — for a drama that has always done its best work under pressure.