Has Chicago P.D. Already Found Its Upton Replacement?
With Tracy Spiridakos poised to exit Chicago P.D. as Hailey Upton at the end of this current Season 11, a spot within Intelligence will soon open up.
We don’t yet know how the seasoned detective will depart, or who will replace her, but the show already has a strong candidate.
Wednesday’s episode featured detective Jo Petrovic (played by Bojana Novakovic) in her third appearance on the Dick Wolf procedural. She was first introduced in Season 11, Episode 7, during which the SVU cop helped the unit take down a serial killer. We learned more about her in Episode 8, with Upton discovering that she was an alcoholic after finding a water bottle filled with liquor. Upton covered for Petrovic, opting not to tell Voight about her addiction struggles, which came back up in this week’s Episode 10 and laid the groundwork for a potential replacement.
The hour saw Intelligence investigate an eight-year-old missing persons case that Petrovic originally worked. When Upton reached out about a new lead — their missing person’s young daughter showing up at District 21 — an obviously inebriated Petrovic rushed to the station and crashed her vehicle on the way there.
Upton then issued an ultimatum to either go to detox or risk being turned in, and Petrovic opted for the first option. But Petrovic broke their deal to continue working this case, caring more about solving it than the risk of losing her job.
In the end, it was Petrovic’s hint that helped Intelligence solve the confounding case, showing her potential with the unit. And after taking a major step forward — checking herself back into rehab at the end of the episode — it seems like the one thing that could hinder her chances of potentially joining the squad is finally being dealt with.
Plus, photos from the upcoming Episode 12, titled “Inventory,” show Petrovic back with Upton, confirming we’ll see her at least once more this season. And while she may not be an official member of Intelligence, she’s really starting to feel like one.
I said this to my husband the first time she appeared this season; my gut feeling told me she would be the replacement. I like her, so would be ok with it!
I hope not, I don’t mind continuing her story to closure it.honestly the current cast are enough considering budget cuts and the lack of regular every single episode and bring stars to guest for arcs. But I really hope for non blonde replacement and a character that bring something refreshing and challenging to the current cast like Torres.
So being blonde should count against her? Isn’t that biased?
It isn’t. Stop using big words just because we’ve different opinion and here are why: 1. I’d prefer if they brought patrol to another member of the unit or not bring anyone. 2. I like Jo character but as meant to end arc not to be regular.Second favourite arc after the serial killer. 3. Any blonde will be comparting to Upton, same as she compared to Erin, so why not just bring an actress with a different physical appearance to stop it and there are many talent actresses not blonde. 4. I’ve been wanting to see Bojana on a new role since Instinct.
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But Torres is easily the worst member of Intelligence the entirety of the shows run.
I do not like him. I skipped watching a couple of episodes when he was the main storyline.
He’s good though, but he might be the worst which doesn’t mean anything because the whole cast is great. I like his cases though a lot like the one with him and Gloria was great this season.
Brilliant. I like this character and the actress
Agreed, how about a fresh face, maybe a WOC? I find it hard to like a single thing about this character! But tho Voight was absent this episode, it was great to see rest of team working together!
I think hiring a middle-aged woman as a replacement for Upton is a pretty big positive for diversity, actually. Shows like this don’t really do that. Nearly every time they would hire a pretty 20-something as her replacement.
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That said, it definitely sticks out a bit that they’ve never cast a black female cast member on a police procedural set in Chicago. Plenty of recurring and guest stars, but no actual regular yet.
Why does it stick out? Honestly, you only need to look to Med or Fire to see there is no bias going on.
I don’t think there’s any bias. It sticks out a bit because Chicago is a pretty black city so you would expect the show to reflect that, that’s all. By no means should they “have to” cast a black female regular, but I’m surprised they haven’t felt a storytelling pull for one.
I like her, but once in a while. Don’t want her to be a regular. Would rather they bring in someone new. I’m really disappointed that Upton is leaving. Like her dynamic with the rest of the cast, & she’s a good actress!
I love Bojana and her character has been so interesting to watch, so different from everything we’ve had in Chicago PD so far. But she doesn’t feel like a replacement to me. It’s likely she’s just a starting point for Upton’s exit, and I believe this story is slowly revealing itself.
Chicago PD doesn’t even need a replacement – they have enough detectives to tell stories, people we already care about and that the writers seem to forget completely unless for a few episodes at a time. I want to see more of the entire squad actually working together instead of those episodes that are so focused on one or two characters.
I would prefer a smaller, more cohesive cast than what we have now. Dante is amazing but at this point we know more about him in less than two seasons than about Atwater and he’s been there basically since day one. Not using everyone enough and not exploring the cast dynamics just makes the show generic.
Just as soon see Sophia Bush return, although I expect that’s a non-starter.
Hayley is the only Detective in the unit. Crazy that Kim, Kevin, and Adam after 10 years have no Shield
Suspected that weeks ago.
Big question is where is Upton going – we were told she would have some major arc of professional development leading up to her leaving – but I’m not really seeing that.
Another version of the same character…. No thank you.
Use the cast you have, they’ve been basically sidelined this season for this never ending Upton woe is me melodrama.
What a complete disappointment this season has been.
I know Chicago PD will probably swap one bleached blonde in for another, as they did with Erin/Hailey, but I hope they resist it with Jo. Nothing about her character so far has made me think she’d be a good fit in Intelligence (although I’m fine with her being an occasional supporting character as an off-squad profiler). We need a fresh perspective. How about a WOC or an LGBT detective in that slot?
Did you see anything that would rule out her being either L or B?
It’s a police procedural – what does her sexual preference matter anyway?
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No!
I’m going to miss Hailey she is super cool don’t want her to go
Not impressed with her as her replacement so far. Actually she can’t be replaced
God I hope not 🙏 don’t like her character!
But Upton told Jo that Jo was going to lose her job either way because of the drinking, rehab or not? 🤔
OMG, PLEASE NO, CHOOSE SOMEONE ELSE. 😫 If she’s made a regular, I’ll quit watching.
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I sure hope this will not be a replacement for the show . I just don’t think she a fit . ForCPD
But I could be wrong .
I guess I be done watching the show if they put this person on the show . I’m sorry everyone has a right for a job . But I did not care for the way she act . It was like she had no acting skills at all. I know she was playing a drunk person but my experience of watching tv in 60 yr I seen better drunk people acting then her . So please rethink this one through!
Oh no what will the show do if Dana stops watching 😱
I think she’s gonna die somwhow, which will lead Upton to quit.
Chicago PD is a good show but I couldn’t take all the emotional roller coaster story arcs after awhile. Can’t at least one of the main cast be someone without all these flaws and complexes?
They need to wrap this show up.
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I certainly hope not. She’s not a strong enough looking and acting actress. We need someone who looks like she’ll kick butt. That’s one thing I don’t like about Torres He’s too fresh faced and childish looking. Shop for her replacement elsewhere.
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A little tired of the ‘personal drama’ within the show. Upton has been a total drip since before Jay left and it just drags the show down. Do not need another damaged cop on this show, especially another addict who could put the team at risk. Don’t care otherwise who they replace Upton with, but please, not Drunk Jo.
I’m not feeling Petrovic’s character, I would hope they’d bring back the Asian actress who was partnered with Burgess {for about 3 episodes} I really liked her character.