As Chicago PD came to an end in season 12, the Intelligence Unit hit an all-time low. Burgess and Torres were stripped of their badges and placed on suspension, while the Intelligence Unit was effectively disbanded leaving fans to question just how Voight would manage to reclaim his team.
Well, it seems that fans will get to see exactly how Voight goes about putting the band back together as Chicago PD season 13 will not begin with the team having magically been reinstated. As season 13 begins, the Intelligence Unit remains out of commission with the various members of the team who still have jobs within the CPD working new beats.
“I think it's something we've never done before and it felt appropriate [after] what happened last season to have some actual effects on the unit,” reflected Chicago PD showrunner Gwen Sigan in an interview with GeekSided discussing the decision to open the season with the Intelligence Unit still disbanded. “And it gave us this great opportunity to almost do this like reset on everybody. You get to see them in this different light and how they each were dealing with it was really fun.”
Among the most jarring aspects of the reset will be seeing Voight back in a patrol uniform, stripped of his authority and the team he’s overseen for the last several years.
“I loved the idea of seeing Voight back in a patrol uniform, back on the streets where it all started and [exploring] how he would deal with that. It felt like a perfect metaphor for him because, in a way, he's kind of trapped in this like casing of this old thing, and he can't quite get out of it.”
Having played Voight for 13 seasons now on Chicago PD in addition to his guest arc on Chicago Fire ahead of PD’s launch, Jason Beghe has gotten to explore the character of Voight in many different ways. Donning Voight’s patrol uniform was “a lot of fun” for Beghe, but it also paved the way for an uncharacteristically vulnerable and sentimental moment which occurs early in the season premiere.
“One of the very first moments of the season, I find myself at the police memorial wall. Voight sees his father's name, who died in the line of duty, and he touches it and has a moment. It's just a very, uncharacteristically vulnerable and sentimental moment,” Beghe teased of the season 13 moment.
The moment is indeed a rare instance in which we see a more vulnerable side of Voight, who is often quite guarded. According to Beghe, the moment “in a sense, sets an underlying tone for the season in a way," hinting that perhaps the season ahead will continue to explore the more vulnerable sides of not only Voight, but the rest of the Intelligence Unit.
Chicago PD season 13 premieres Wednesday, October 1 at 10/9c on NBC and will be available to stream the following day on Peacock.