“Are We Actually Going To Kill Him?“: ‘Chicago P.D.’ Showrunner Reveals Why ‘The Pitt’ Star Shawn Hatosy Had To Go

Chicago P.D. Season 12 introduced a new antagonist for Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) to tackle. Enter Chief Reid (Shawn Hatosy) — a formidable opponent who waged his war on the Intelligence Unit till the very end.

The Season 12 finale saw that war climax as Reid was shot and killed by Rennie Otero. It was a hit ultimately sanctioned by Voight, and upon discovering this fact, the sergeant's love interest, Nina Chapman (Sara Bues), confronted him. Reid might be gone, but the fallout from his death is likely to carry on into the coming season. Showrunner Gwen Sigan, in an interview with Screen Rant, revealed that she almost decided not to kill off Hatosy's Reid in the finale.

"I don't think we ever thought we could redeem him as a character and make him less dark than he is," Sigan explained to the outlet. "But we certainly got to a point where we were like, "Are we actually going to kill him? We don't want to kill him. How can we get him back?" Reid was like a blood hound towards the end, ordering an internal affairs investigation into Voight's unit in hopes of bringing him down. Ultimately, Voight got the upper hand, and Sigan believes that the contest between both men was a good one, adding, "He's such a good antagonist for Voight, and he is just a great actor, such a professional, and was always reliable."

How Might Voight Handle Reid's Death Going Forward?

Voight has been trying to walk the narrow path, but ultimately, he fell off the wagon in the Season 2 finale, slipping back into old habits. Despite their disdain for one another, Reid and Voight are quite similar, relying on the gray areas of the law to achieve their aims. In his final moments, Chief Reid accused Voight saying, "You're worse than me." In a previous interview, Sigan suggests that Voight might be somewhat reflective in future episodes of the show. "But it's one of those things that is going to haunt him a little bit. And we've seen that he's become a bit more self-reflective, whether he wants to admit that or not." She adds:

"I think last season, dealing with having almost died the previous season, he was on this quest of almost, 'What more can I have in my life?' and he has almost taken a step backwards. And so I think that those words are going to keep coming up in his head, even if it's just in his subconscious."

Chicago P.D. Season 13 will arrive this fall and there are quite a number of stories to track. What comes next for Voight and the Intelligence Unit as the search for a new deputy chief begins? What does the aftermath of the Burzek wedding mean for the couple involved? What happens with the Voight-Chapman dynamic? Tune in to NBC this Fall for the new season and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.