Tracy Spiridakos
OF CHICAGO P.D. ON NBC/PEACOCK
Q: Now that Tracy Spiridakos has left “Chicago P.D.” as a regular cast member, is it possible that she’ll be back on the show as a guest?
A: That’s one of those “never say ‘never’” answers, since the actress made it clear at the time of her exit that she maintains great affection for her colleagues on both sides of the cameras on the NBC police drama. She said she definitely would return to Chicago to visit then, if only behind the scenes … but if there was a sensible story-driven reason for her Hailey Upton character to reappear on-screen, one would think Spiridakos would give it serious consideration.
The way Upton departed from “Chicago P.D.” left a possible way for her to resurface, since she was looking at the websites of agencies such as the FBI and the CIA, so it seemed that continuing in law enforcement in some way was on very much on her mind. In fact, Upton already has had a taste of working within one of those organizations: Spiridakos did a crossover guest shot in the role in a Season 2 episode of CBS’s “FBI,” executive-produced (as “Chicago P.D.” is) by Dick Wolf.
That being said, Spiridakos expressed that a major reason for her deciding to leave “Chicago P.D.” was her desire to shake things up for herself and see what other work might be available to her. Before starting her long run as a Windy City cop, she had starred in the NBC series “Revolution” and did recurring roles on such other shows as A&E Network’s “Bates Motel” and CBS’s reboot of “MacGyver.” Still, her “Chicago P.D.” tenure constituted a major portion of her career, so her wanting to spread her wings is understandable.