Chicago P.D.’s Tracy Spiridakos on Upton’s Upcoming Departure: ‘It Was a Hard Decision’

Tracy Spiridakos has spoken up about her impending departure as Det. Hailey Upton in Chicago P.D.’s Season 11 finale, airing tomorrow, May 22 at 10/9c on NBC.

It was announced back in October that she’d be leaving the Dick Wolf procedural after seven seasons with the show.

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The actress made the decision to exit at the end of Season 10 and broke the news to showrunner Gwen Sigan that she just wanted to do one more year. “It was a hard decision — very, very hard,” she explained to Variety. “I love everybody on the show — cast, crew, producers, writers, everybody. It’s such an incredible team. I was just curious what was out there for me and wanted to switch it up, and that was it.”

Spiridakos first recurred as Upton during Season 4 before joining Intelligence full-time in Season 5. Season 10 saw Upton deal with the aftermath of the abrupt departure of her husband Jay Halstead (played by Jesse Lee Soffer) in the season’s third episode. After heading to Bolivia to track the worst cartel targets, Halstead had stopped returning her calls and failed to inform her that he extended his overseas tour. The pair made their divorce official early on in Season 11.

Upton has been grappling with the breakup throughout this current season, burying herself in work and pushing her body to the limits with frequent jogs to clear her head. In Episode 7, she partnered with SVU detective Jo Petrovic (played by Bojana Novakovic), a struggling alcoholic, and even helped the latter check into rehab.

The finale, which marks Upton’s last episode, will see Intelligence search for Voight, who’s gone missing.

How are we feeling about Upton’s departure, #OneChicago fam? What do you hope to see in tomorrow’s finale?

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