Jesse Lee Soffer reveals if he will ever come back as Jay Halstead on Chicago PD following his shocking exit. The One Chicago police procedural had to say goodbye to the original cast member just three episodes in during its banner year. As Halstead was a founding member of Hank Voight's Intelligence, seeing him leave was heartbreaking enough, but the way the show wrote him out led to accusations that the character's decisions were uncharacteristic.
Suffice it to say, Halstead's Chicago PD exit was controversial. The good news is that NBC has kept the door open for his possible return. When asked about this in a new interview with Variety, Soffer says that he's always willing to reprise his Chicago PD role, especially since he feels bad for the fans considering how the police procedural wrote his character out. Read his full quote below:
“Never say never. I feel so bad for the fans that are like, ‘Is he going to come back?’ ‘What’s he going to do?’ ‘What’s going on with him and Hailey?... I like to think — and I hope the fans think this too — that he’s just in another country right now, doing what he does best and making the world a safer place. In a family, sometimes somebody moves away or goes to college somewhere else. I still love it. I still love the fans. And I still love Halstead. Halstead’s always going to be in my blood. That’s never going to change.”
Why Jesse Lee Soffer's Jay Halstead Needs To Return In Chicago PD
For context, Halstead's abrupt Chicago PD exit stemmed from his worsening identity crisis. After years of covering up for Intelligence's sometimes off-the-books operation, he supposedly reached his limit and opted to quit and return to the army. Before he left for his stint in Bolivia, however, he swore his wife and long-time partner, Hailey Upton, that he would come back.
Sadly, it doesn't seem like the former Intelligence detective is keen on keeping his promise. Chicago PD star Tracy Spiridakos essentially confirmed that Halstead and Upton's marriage will soon be over. Whether that means that Soffer will briefly return as his character to officially end things with Upton and their marriage is unclear. Otherwise, NBC can just leave the narrative unresolved in the meantime.
While it's still uncertain when or if Halstead will ever reunite with Intelligence, Soffer's Chicago PD comeback has already been set. The actor is confirmed to direct episode 16 of the ongoing year. No narrative details have been released about the outing, but set images have offered a look at the actor stepping behind the camera and directing his former co-stars.
Source: Variety