After a season of change, Chicago PD The latter half of Season 12 is gearing up for more drama, romance and crime-solving action

“We have a lot coming up with our new sub-lead character, Sean Hatosiits reed," Chicago PD Showrunner Gwen Sigan Exclusively stated our weekly Tuesday, January 7. "We saw in the midseason finale, he makes a statement to Voight like, 'We're going to be friends,' but it's obviously a friendship of ownership and, like, leverage."

Cigan says that Deputy Chief Charlie Reed (Hatosi), who joined the cast this season, and Intelligence Unit leader Hank Voight (Jason Bege)

He teased that the pair's leadership style "changes the dynamics of the unit a lot" going forward.

Cigan noted that the second half of the season will finally feature Kim Burgess (Marina Scerciati) and Adam Ruzek (Patrick Fluger) are getting married after their third engagement in season 11.

The showrunner said our that Dante Torres (Benjamin Levi Aguilar) will continue to have an "existential crisis and a crisis of faith" in the upcoming episode, added Kevin Atwater (Larois Hawkins) will get "some romance" again.

"We have a little bit of everything," Seagan said. "Certainly things will continue to change and evolve for the unit."

Scroll down for everything our learned from Chicago PDThe showrunner on the rest of season 12:

Cook's story will come to light

After joining the detective unit earlier this season, fans will finally find out Kiana Cooke is a good picture (Toya Turner) and where he came from.

"Episode 9 is a cook episode," Cigan said ourRefers to the midseason premiere that aired on Wednesday, January 8. “You actually get to meet a lot of his family members in this episode, which is fun. And you're going to learn about his past and his background and the different worlds he belongs to and how different they are from each other."

Cigan said Cook's past will reveal why he is so focused on being present and "doing the job well." He teased that the show's return is an "action ride" for Cook and that the rest of the season will be more about him "context and who he is and why he's really unique to the unit."

Chief Reed goes toe to toe with Voight

Throughout Season 12, Reid has been aware of everything Voight's team is doing - good and bad - and looking the other way. But Cigan said our The team must pay for its choice not to reprimand.

“He's a character who plays a lot of his cards very close to the vest. And it's really hard for Voight to read him," the showrunner said of Reed, noting, "We've always seen Voight as a bit of an omniscient. So it's really fun to be someone else."

He called Reed a "mirror of Voight's funny room", meaning that the lead "acts the way Voight used to" but "advanced and exaggerated."

"We'll learn more about him and his motivations throughout the season," teases Cigan. "But it's definitely a cat and mouse game and ... it's definitely a friendship with a lot of strings attached."

Burgess is doing it her way

In Season 12, Episode 6, made Burgess a detectiveAnd viewers will get to see him in action in the second half of the season

"There's this really simple transition of him just kind of taking on a leadership role that leads the charge," Sigan explained. "You can see that he's often giving orders and is definitely a little, maybe, overwhelmed or overwhelmed by how much (paperwork and) more responsibility (he has)."

Although Burgess has a lot to do, she finds her "groove" and a style of leadership that Sigan says is "so different" than past detective Hayley Upton.Tracy Spiridakos) and J. Halstead (Jessie Lee Soffer)

“It feels like its own thing, which is more like, 'I'm still your equal, but I'll command you now. I'm going to direct a little bit more now,'" Cigan continued. "I think everyone is very supportive and just falls into those roles."

Torres 'not great'

During the midseason finale, which aired in November 2024Torres' past relationship with informant Gloria Perez (Yara Martinez) came to light when he was found running a drug business in Chicago. Gloria dies after helping the intelligence unit, and to his surprise, Torres is not reprimanded by the chief for his misconduct.

Torres, however, isn't doing "great" when the show returns. "It triggered a lot for him," Cigan said of the relationship and Gloria's death, adding that Torres' background will continue to be explored.

"(We revealed) why he was ever attracted to this woman and why he got into this relationship and had trauma that goes back to his childhood," he said. our. "And then how current events trigger a bit of a crisis of faith."

Atwater's love story isn't over

Atwater agreed A no-strings-attached relationship with Valeria "Val" Soto (Natalie Lineage) during Season 12, Episode 3, and according to Cigan, that arrangement may change when Val returns in upcoming episodes.

"The nice thing about that relationship is that it started almost like, 'We're going to do something for our couple that's just for us,'" she said. "But, obviously, over time, how has it transformed and grown?"

The showrunner explained that Atwater had to decide "is this just a casual thing that we both need in our lives or is it something more?"

Cigan added: “We can explore the reasons behind this for their pairing and maybe why they're not looking for anything too serious. Is it a defense mechanism or because they build their lives? He hinted that the dynamic would become "more sensitive and deeper."

Burzek will be hitched

Before this Dr. Squarciati our that he wants"The white dress moment"For Burgess when she eventually marries Ruzek. Pfluger, however, reported our That he thinks is their style More "court" marriages.

Seagan revealed that onscreen marriage is a "middle ground" between the two. "It's been a long time and they have this family — their (daughter) Mikayla (and) she wants to talk about it, and I think she wants a party," Seagan said. our "So, to me, it's going to be a middle ground of finding what works for both of them that's not a court marriage, so they can have everyone they want there," Tuesday said.

He noted that it should be an "easy" and "grounded affair", but the scenes have yet to be filmed. "I don't know all the details," Sigan admits, adding that he "can see" Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) performance of duties.

Chicago PD. NBC airs Wednesdays at 10 pm ET.