‘Chicago P.D.’ Boss Teases ‘Romantic Undercurrent’ For Upstead, The Arrival Of A New Cop & More

‘Chicago P.D.’ kicked off season 7 with some major changes. HL spoke EXCLUSIVELY with EP Rick Eid about what’s next for Ruzek, whether an Upton and Halstead relationship will be explored, and more.

It feels so good to have Chicago P.D. back in our lives. The hit NBC drama came back swinging with an epic and intense season 7 premiere. The episode revealed who really killed Kelton — Brennan! — and Voight revealed that he sent Antonio to rehab. HollywoodLife talked EXCLUSIVELY with showrunner Rick Eid about what’s in store for Intelligence in the episodes to come.

Now that Ruzek is out on bond but not back at work, it’s not going to be a “pretty picture” for him. However, Rick teased that something will come up that will allow Ruzek to get back to the team. A new cop is coming to Intelligence and her name is Vanessa Rojas, played by Lisseth Chavez. Rick revealed that she’ll have an “interesting relationship” with Atwater this season. Plus, Rick gave Chicago P.D. fans some hints about what’s ahead for Upstead and admitted there’s “hope” for Ruzek and Burgess.

We found out who killed Kelton and there was this really intense confrontation between Voight and Halstead. Is there going to be this tension between them going forward?
Rick Eid: I think it’ll be complicated going forward. There’ll be tension. I think they’ll try to get past it. I think there’s always going to be some underlying tension and conflict between the two of them, regardless of how much each respects the other.

Ruzek is now out on bond but he’s sort of in limbo with not being able to go back to work. What can you say about how this is going to impact him?
Rick Eid: Ruzek without a badge is not a pretty picture, so I think he’s going to be a little lost until he’s back on the job, if he’s back on the job.

What’s he going to be up to?
Rick Eid: Not much. He’s off. I mean he’s a guy who’s been charged with a crime, so he’s going to have to answer for that and he’s off duty and he’s going to be just a regular guy without a badge and a gun. But luckily, I think something may present itself that allows him to get back to the team.

We got a glimpse of Paul Adelstein’s character. What can you say about the impact his character going to have on the team?
Rick Eid: He’s an interesting addition to the show. He’s the acting superintendent, hoping to become the full-time superintendent. He’ll have an interesting and complicated relationship with Voight and they’re going to try to work together and help each other to make Chicago a better place to live but sometimes things don’t work out the way you planned. I think he and Voight will have an interesting relationship that will feel different and distinct from the relationship he had last year with John McGinley’s character.

Another person joining the crew is Lisseth Chavez, who’s playing a new character, Vanessa. What can you tease about her arrival and what we can expect from her?
Rick Eid: She’s great and we meet her in an unexpected way and she’s a street-smart, young detective who’s trying to fit in and become a part of the family, and it might not be so easy.

What are we dealing with this season when it comes to Upton and Halstead? Are we headed in a romantic direction? This will-they-or-won’t-they is killing me.
Rick Eid: Good! Then we’re doing our job! I think their relationship will continue to grow and there’s definitely a romantic undercurrent to their relationship, and whether it’s acted upon or not, you got to keep watching to see.

What about Burgess and Ruzek? Now that Ruzek and Upton are not together, there’s hope again.
Rick Eid: There’s hope! Once we get cooking into the season, their relationship will become very interesting. I’ll leave it at that.

What’s Atwater going to be up to this season?
Rick Eid: He’s got a lot of cool stuff going on. He’s a really interesting character. We love writing stuff for him. I think he’ll have an interesting relationship with Rojas. I think that’s something that’s interesting, and you know he’s got a brother and sister in Texas that he’s sort of the surrogate father for and I think his actual home life will become a little more interesting this year as well.