Chicago P.D. Season 14: Release Date, Cast Changes, and Everything Else to Know

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Just like the other One Chicago shows, Chicago P.D. is the kind of ongoing procedural that has gone through a lot of cast changes. And we'll have even more of an upheaval in Season 14, as LaRoyce Hawkins, who played Kevin Atwater since the show's first episode, says goodbye to the show.

For now, that's the only cast departure announced for the upcoming season, but on a show that has seen Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) and Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) depart in the last few seasons, and has lost big characters like Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda) and Alvin Olinksy (Elias Koteas) before, it's starting to feel like the team we're watching these days is made of more new people than people we've followed for a while.

There has been no announced replacement for Atwater, though a casting call revealed the show was looking for a new series regular, described as "a Black cop who is an agent of chaos." Very much the anti-Kevin Atwater. Perhaps that makes sense. There's nothing worse than bringing in a character that fills the same role as the one that's departing. That's opening yourself, and the new actor, to comparisons.

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Kevin might be leaving, but Voight (Jason Beghe) remains in charge of a unit that still has some familiar faces — and a procedural romance to root for — in Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger). Can Adam and Kim balance parenthood and work? Will sparks fly between some of the newer members of the ensemble? Has Voight truly met his match in Eva Imani (Arienne Mandi)? That's what we're tuning in for in Season 14.

To answer all your burning questions, we've put together everything you need to know about the upcoming Season 14 of Chicago P.D., including when it premieres, who will be in the new season (and who will be leaving and when), as well as where you can watch it.

Chicago P.D. Season 14 release date

Chicago P.D. Season 14 will premiere on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 10/9c on NBC. And like always, it's coming back alongside the entire One Chicago universe. Chicago Med Season 12 will premiere at 8/7c, and Chicago Fire Season 15 will premiere at 9/8c. The shows will continue to air together throughout the season. You can see NBC's entire fall schedule here.

Chicago P.D. can also be watched live online with a Peacock subscription in most areas. New episodes will be available on the streaming service the next day.

How did Chicago P.D. Season 13 end?

The Season 13 finale focused on Eva Imani and the search for her missing sister, Shari. Imani, with Voight's help, traces a murdered sex worker directly to her. But once she locates Shari, her sister is unable to remember Eva or her family, and remains loyal to her trafficker, Russ Kirby.

In a heartbreaking turn of events, Shari proceeds to lure Imani into a trap and comes close to killing her. At the last second, Imani is able to break away, and Voight kills Kirby, which leaves Shari in a state of devastation. Just as Imani thinks the nightmare is over, we discover that Shari has attempted suicide. She's rushed to the hospital and seems to survive, but her mental state is still very fragile.

There's another twist at the end of the episode, as it turns out that the murdered sex worker who led them straight to Shari wasn't murdered by Kirby, but by Shari herself. The final scene sees Imani and Voight discussing this development, with Imani asking Voight: "Is my sister going to be charged with murder?"

As Voight seems to consider the question, the screen fades to black, setting up Season 14.

Chicago P.D. Season 14 cast changes

We know Kevin Atwater is leaving; we just don't know yet who is replacing him. Hawkins will return to tie off Atwater's storyline, and he's expected to be around for two or three episodes. The easiest way to write him off would be to use the pregnancy of his girlfriend, Tasha Fox (Karen Obilom), as an off-ramp for him. Babies and dangerous police work do not mix, after all.

After that, the Intelligence Unit will presumably get a new member. All we know about whoever might take Kevin's place is that Deadline reported the show was looking to cast "a Black cop who is an agent of chaos."

Outside of Kevin's departure, the core team from last season is set to return. That means Voight will lead the unit, Kim remains second in command after becoming a detective, and Imani and Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) round out the team. As always, Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) remains a steady presence in the precinct.

But, just as last season, expect characters to take a few episodes off from time to time. All of the One Chicago shows implemented cost-cutting measures before last season, and those remain in effect. Not our favorite thing, but probably better than losing more characters for good.

What will Chicago P.D. Season 14 be about?

There are a few loose threads the show can pull from in Season 14; the most important is the unfinished storyline with Shari, Eva, and Voight. Will Voight give up Imani's sister and try to get her help within the system? Will he cover up her murder? Let's be honest, considering who Voight is, the answer is likely option 2. When has Voight ever followed the rules?

He and Imani have already developed a kinship that resembles the relationship Voight had with Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) when this show started, and a decision on his part to cover for Shari would bring them closer together. And it would, perhaps, give Voight a semblance of a family, something he hasn't had since his son Justin (Josh Segarra) was killed back in Season 3.

The other big question for the unit going forward is with Adam and Kim. The two had plenty of conversations about moving from the home where Adam grew up in Canaryville to somewhere in the suburbs, where their daughter Makayla (Ramona Edith Williams) could go to a different school. The last Adam-centric episode saw them deciding in favor of the move, but we have yet to see where they are relocating and how that might affect them or Makayla. There's been very little in the way of domestic drama for them of late, so we will likely at least see them struggling with the move.

If we add to that Torres' battle with depression, Season 14 feels like a blank slate for so many storylines. And that's what Gwen Sigan teased in a conversation with NBC Insider: "We wanted to focus on sort of why each of them is the way they are, where does that come from, and it was really a fun season to explore..." Sigan shared. "It wound up really naturally putting them each at this point where they have these big momentous life things happening to each of them. And so it sets us up [for Season 14] to really change with the characters."

Chicago P.D. Season 14 cast

Chicago P.D. has never had as big a cast as the other One Chicago shows. The show, after all, is just about the Intelligence Unit, not the entirety of the Chicago police department. And as an elite unit, there aren't that many people assigned to Intelligence at any given time. That means that even with Hawkins' departure, we're unlikely to see more than one person join the team full time.

The show has, however, toyed with giving Voight some antagonists outside of the unit, from ASA Nina Chapman (Sara Bues) to Deputy Chief Reid (The Pitt's Shawn Hatosy). In the last season, however, they chose to focus on the dynamics between Voight and Imani, and considering how Season 13 ended, we will likely focus on that relationship again instead of bringing someone else from the outside.

Chicago P.D. cast:

• Jason Beghe as Sergeant Hank Voight
• Patrick John Flueger as Officer Adam Ruzek
• Marina Squerciati as Detective Kim Burgess
• Amy Morton as Sergeant Trudy Platt
• Benjamin Levy Aguilar as Officer Dante Torres
• Arienne Mandi as Officer Eva Imani

Where to watch Chicago P.D.

All 13 seasons of Chicago P.D. are available to stream on Peacock with a subscription. Episodes are also available to purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.