From the moment Jesse Lee Soffer exited Chicago PD after season 10, fans have been anxiously awaiting his return to the franchise, and understandably so. Soffer’s Detective Jay Halstead was not only one of the most beloved characters in the One Chicago franchise, but he was also a pivotal member of the Intelligence Unit, always staying loyal and true to his morals, and showing heart even in the toughest moments.
Halstead’s exit was one of the toughest for the show, and Chicago PD hasn’t quite been the same without him. Fans have been anxiously holding out hope for Halstead’s return to the team, even if just in a recurring or guest capacity. Fortunately, there is some movement on that front, though it comes with a bit of a catch.
Soffer is officially back in the Windy City, hard at work on the upcoming thirteenth season of Chicago PD. That’s the good news; the bad news is that his return won’t bring about the return of Jay Halstead.
As confirmed by longtime Chicago PD producer Brian Luce, Soffer has returned to Chicago PD to direct an episode of season 13. Soffer will be directing the fourth episode of the upcoming season and has been spending the last several days on set working alongside his former colleagues behind the camera as a director.
“My Bestie is back in the big-boy director's chair and I couldn’t be more happy!!!” Luce wrote announcing Soffer’s return to the show. Luce has since given fans several fun updates including a series of videos in which he has some fun at Soffer’s expense in beating him to the set on more than a few occasions, as well as the below behind-the-scenes look at Soffer working hard on the episode.
Soffer has also been taking the opportunity to catch up with his former co-stars, with Marina Squerciati (Detective Kim Burgess) sharing a photo on her Instagram Stories commemorating a night out with Soffer.
While we haven’t seen Halstead on-screen since his exit in season 10, episode 3, “A Good Man,” Soffer has been back a few times behind-the-scenes as a director. His first go-around in the director’s chair came shortly after his exit from the show with Soffer directing episode 16 of season 10, “Deadlocked.” He’d return a year later to direct the penultimate episode of season 11, “Inventory,” before booking his role on FBI: International, which kept him busy for the last year filming overseas.
It’s definitely exciting to see Soffer back in action on Chicago PD, though we’d be lying if we didn’t admit we wish his return was coming on-camera. Halstead’s update felt so abrupt, and it would be nice to see him return to Chicago even if just for an episode or two to catch us up on what he’s been up to since leaving town. Who knows, maybe the show could even give Upstead fans a better ending than the one we received by informing us that Halstead and Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) reconciled off-screen and found their way back to one another. We can dream, right?!
Chicago PD returns Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 10/9c on NBC!