Tracy Spiridakos Sounds Off on ‘Chicago P.D.’ Exit Ahead of Season Finale: ‘I Wanted to Switch It Up’

Tracy Spiridakos addressed her Chicago P.D. exit for the first time ahead of her farewell episode and the season 11 finale.

“I decided at the end of my sixth season (a.k.a. season 10 of the series),” Spiridakos, 36, told Variety on Tuesday, May 21, of her departure timeline. “Which is when I had reached out to [showrunner] Gwen [Sigan] and to everyone at Wolf to let them know that I just wanted to do one more year.”

Spiridakos, who joined the cast during season 4 in 2017 as Detective Haley Upton, recalled telling the team that she wanted to “send out the character with one last season.”

The actress confessed that “it was a hard decision — very, very hard” because of how close she’s become with her One Chicago family.

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“I love everybody on the show — cast, crew, producers, writers, everybody,” Spiridakos explained. “It’s such an incredible team.”

Despite being close to her castmates, Spiridakos knew it was time to try something different. “I was just curious what was out there for me and wanted to switch it up, and that was it,” she said.

News broke in October 2023 that Spiridakos was exiting Chicago P.D. after the then-upcoming season 11, which premiered in February.

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While Spiridakos’ departure was unexpected, it wasn’t a complete shock to fans after the actress’ TV husband, Jesse Lee Soffer, who played Detective Jay Halstead, left the show at the start of season 10.

Without Halstead, Upton struggled to stay afloat, and the pair ultimately divorced. During season 11, fans have seen Upton build herself back up and completely throw herself into the job, which will come to an end during the Wednesday, May 22, finale.

“I don’t think anyone sits down the whole episode,” Spiridakos teased of the season 11 conclusion. “There’s a lot of really vulnerable moments. We see these characters, who we haven’t necessarily seen be so vulnerable, you see a lot of that come through as well.”

Although viewers will miss Spiridakos on season 12 of the NBC drama, costar Jason Beghe exclusively told Us Weekly that the show will live on.

“People like to use the metaphor of a family [for a TV show]. I prefer an organism,” Beghe, 64, said in March. “When somebody leaves, whether your child goes off to college or somebody dies or whatever it is, the whole thing has to adjust and it’s not going to be the same.”

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Beghe, who plays Sergeant Hank Voight, noted that Spiridakos’ departure is something that will shift their dynamic but won’t break them.

“I think we’ll survive this, and we have to find ways to [grow],” he told Us, adding that Spiridakos’ character “will always” be part of the show — as are all the characters who’ve come before her.

Beghe concluded: “They’re part of the unit. The unit has changed because of them. And that change will always be there as we go forward and continue to evolve as a unit.”

Chicago P.D. airs on NBC Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET.