Jesse Lee Soffer, former star of Chicago P.D., has officially exited the show after a nine-season run playing Detective Jay Halstead. Soffer, whose character officially departed yesterday in the show’s tenth season, took to Twitter to share his gratitude for the longtime fans of not only Jay Halstead but of Chicago P.D. as a series.
Originally released as a spinoff of Chicago Fire (2012), Chicago P.D. first premiered on NBC in 2014. The series features the police officers of Chicago’s fictional 21st District, which houses patrol officers and the Intelligence Unit led by Detective Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe). The first three seasons of the show featured patrol officers and Intelligence Unit officers in equal measure, but from the fourth season onward, the focus shifted toward the Intelligence Unit after the unit was built up during the season.
Jesse Lee Soffer on Leaving ‘Chicago P.D.’
Jesse Lee Soffer plays Detective Jay Halstead, a former Army Ranger-turned-Intelligence Unit officer who suffers from occasional PTSD, which he later sought therapy for. The younger brother of Dr. Will Halstead from Chicago Med – the third installment of the Chicago franchise – Jay was initially in a relationship with his partner Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) before marrying Detective Haley Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) in season 9 of the show.
Recent episodes of Chicago P.D. portrayed Jay as struggling with the secretive, “gray area” nature of the Intelligent Unit; after serving as Voight’s right-hand-man, Jay eventually becomes disillusioned with the “gray area” that the Intelligence Unit resides in, desperate not to become a corrupt cop like Voight himself once was. In season 10, episode 3, “A Good Man,” Jay’s struggle comes to a head as he decides to accept a job with the Army, tracking down drug cartels in Bolivia, according to Deadline.
The behind-the-scenes reasons for Soffer departing Chicago P.D. are unknown, but the split seems amicable, at least – Soffer was live-tweeting “A Good Man” as it premiered yesterday, October 5th, and supported Jay’s decision to leave, quoting his character with “’It was the right thing to do.’ Now that’s Jay.” After the episode with Jay’s departure aired, Soffer posted a heartwarming message of gratitude towards the fans of his character, stating, “For anyone that’s ever been a Halstead fan, I just want you to know that I’m grateful. Thank you for going on this journey with me. I’m just grateful.”
For anyone that’s ever been a Halstead fan, I just want you to know that I’m grateful. Thank you for going on this journey with me. I’m just grateful. ❤️
— Jesse Lee Soffer (@jesseleesoffer) October 6, 2022
Soffer’s co-stars, including LaRoyce Hawkins, who plays Detective Kevin Atwater, and Marina Squerciati as Officer Kim Burgess, have also posted heartfelt goodbyes to Jay Halstead, stating that the show will “never be the same” without him.
Chicago P.D. season 10 is currently airing on NBC and Peacock. The next episode is scheduled to air on October 6th at 10/9c.
