Chicago P.D. is losing one of its most popular faces.
Jesse Lee Soffer will exit the Dick Wolfe drama series during its forthcoming tenth season.
Variety first reported the news, revealing that Soffer will bow out of the NBC series sometime in the fall.
“I want to thank the incredible fans for their unwavering support during the past 10 years and want to express my deepest gratitude to Dick Wolf and everyone at Wolf Entertainment, Peter Jankowski, Matt Olmstead, Derek Haas, Michael Brandt, Rick Eid, Gwen Sigan, NBC, Universal Television, my fellow castmates and our incredible crew,” Soffer said in a statement.
“To create this hour drama week after week has been a labor of love by everyone who touches the show.”
“I will always be proud of my time as Det. Jay Halstead.”
Soffer has played Jay Halstead since 2014 when the Chicago Fire spinoff first hit the air.
News of the exit is a bit of a surprise, especially because the series has been all in on Upstead of late.
It’s unclear whether this exit puts the kibosh in them staying together, or if the series will follow in the footsteps of Chicago Fire which kept Brett and Casey together after Jesse Spencer’s exit.
Halstead and Upton were much closer, however. They got married on Chicago P.D. Season 9.
It’s unclear at this stage how the exit will be handled, so we’ll have to tune in when the series returns.
It’s possible the door will be left opened for Soffer’s potential return down the line.
It was revealed earlier this year that Benjamin Levy Aguilar had been promoted to series regular for Season 10.
In other Dick Wolf news, it was recently revealed that Kelli Giddish would be leaving Law & Order: SVU after 12 seasons playing Rollins.
It was subsequently revealed that the exit was not a decision made by the star.
What are your thoughts on this big exit?
Hit the comments below.
Remember, you can watch Chicago P.D. online right here via TV Fanatic.
Chicago P.D. returns Wednesday, September 21, on NBC.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
