When Sophia Bush left NBC’s “Chicago P.D.” after four seasons, it changed the popular police drama in a lasting way. There were reportedly problems on set with her co-star Jason Beghe, which led to the writing out of her character, Detective Erin Lindsay.
Bush played Lindsay from the start of the show, giving the character a unique journey from street criminal to police officer. Beghe, who plays Sergeant Hank Voight, was accused of acting inappropriately, which led to her leaving the role. According to NBC, Beghe had “ongoing anger management issues,” which led to the actor publicly apologizing.
Bush made it clear that she chose to leave the show by writing on Instagram, “Took me a long time and a lot of hard work to get out of that show.” Please don’t put down my abilities by lowering my place. It was my choice to leave. The end of the story.”
To fill Bush’s story hole, the show made Tracy Spiridakos a series regular as Detective Hailey Upton. Fans and critics alike say that Upton’s friendship with Voight lacks the emotional depth that made the Lindsay-Voight relationship so interesting.
Lindsay’s unique backstory—how Voight saved and helped her as a teenager—gave the show a more complex perspective. Her real-life link to Chicago’s street life gave the show’s first few seasons something special that has been hard to copy.
Being on Grey’s Anatomy makes it less likely that Bush will return to Chicago P.D. The show is now in its twelfth season and is still part of NBC’s Chicago soap franchise. However, many fans think that the show has lost some of the raw emotional power that made the first four seasons so great.
Even though the cast changed, “Chicago P.D.” is still a mainstay of prime-time TV, showing how strong the show is even when major cast changes happen.
