‘Chicago P.D.’ Bids Final Farewell To Olinsky In Season 6 Premiere — ‘It’s A Real Loss’

In the final moments of the 'Chicago P.D.' season 6 premiere, the team said goodbye to Olinsky in an emotional funeral. HL spoke EXCLUSIVELY with the cast about filming that heartbreaking moment and where the show goes from here.

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Alvin Olinsky is gone, but he will never be forgotten. His presence was clearly felt in the season 6 premiere of Chicago P.D. The team is still reeling from his shocking and sudden death. Voight manages to get a letter of exoneration for Olinsky in exchange for being a ā€œfriendā€ to the new Deputy Superintendent Katherine Brennan. Olinsky is given a proper funeral, with Atwater, Ruzek, Burgess, Upton, Antonio, and Halstead serving as pallbearers.

Voight watches from afar. Trudy has to break the news that Meredith doesnā€™t want Voight at the funeral in the wake of whatā€™s happened. Voight is able to say goodbye to his friend in his own way, complete with a final salute. HollywoodLife spoke with the cast and showrunner Rick Eid EXCLUSIVELY at One Chicago Day about what it was like saying goodbye to Olinsky, and in a sense Elias Koteas, in that emotionally-charged moment.

Jason Beghe (Voight): ā€œIf I can speak for myself, it was a loss for Jason to lose Elias. As I was driving to set I heard from Elias. I said ā€˜Bro, Iā€™m going to your funeral.ā€™ It was sad, and itā€™s a real loss that weā€™re dealing with personally and as characters.

LaRoyce Hawkins (Atwater): ā€œWe really respected the vibe of that moment. I think thatā€™s what makes that scene pop because in real life we lost a friend, not just a partner in Olinsky, but in Elias Koteas. We just really tapped into how it will really feel to move forward. In the same way that I like to think it happens in life, it happened for us. If the emotion was palpable in those moments it was because we really miss Olinsky.ā€

Rick Eid (Showrunner): ā€œI mean, he was such a huge part of the show. It ended so abruptly in the finale, and it was a very unsentimental sendoff for an important character, which was all intentional and deliberate. Elias, the actor himself, told me when we were discussing all this. ā€˜Just promise me one thing, that you wonā€™t give me some sentimental bullsh*t sendoff.ā€™ So we tried to be honest to the character. I feel like this season the audience and actors needed this closure, an emotional moment because Elias himself and Olinsky was such a big part of everything.ā€

Marina Squerciati (Burgess): ā€œYouā€™re also giving the actor a sendoff. He was an incredibly loving beacon on our show, and I miss that.ā€

Tracy Spiridakos (Upton): ā€œI mean, heā€™s such an iconic character, so Iā€™m really glad that we got to do that. That whole scene at the end, I think all of us were having a hard time not crying throughout it. I know I welled up a bunch of times.ā€

Jesse Lee Soffer (Halstead): ā€œIt was one of those interesting things for us as actors, letting the character go. Also, because he was someone who was a family member to us. Itā€™s going to be a weird time with the beginning of season 6 putting all the pieces back together.ā€

Patrick John Flueger (Ruzek): ā€œWeā€™ve had characters come and go from the show before, but weā€™ve never really buttoned it up in such a nice way. It sounds stupid, but it was therapeutic. Elias was this quiet, soulful sweetheart of a man. Heā€™s dearly missed. It was a nice way to put his character to bed.ā€

As for how the loss of Olinsky will impact the team going forward, itā€™s going to vary from character to character. ā€œI think it manifests itself in different ways,ā€ Marina told HollywoodLife. ā€œEveryone deals with grief differently.ā€ Amy Morton, who plays Trudy, added: ā€œTheyā€™re really showing that this season.ā€

As for Atwater, heā€™ll be pondering his own life choices. ā€œI know for a fact that itā€™s making Atwater think about the consequences of his actions of heroics. Itā€™s not easy to be a cop, especially a black cop in Chicago,ā€ LaRoyce revealed to HollywoodLife. ā€œI think when you lose friends, and you think about your own life, itā€™s not hard for the lines between the black and blue to get a little blurry. Thatā€™s what Atwater is going through right now, trying to find where his loyalties really lie.ā€ Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on NBC.