Seems that actor Jesse Lee Soffer is not yet ready to leave Chicago P.D. Reports to confirm that the actor who used to play the character of detective Jay Halstead in NBC’s police procedural action drama is all set to make a return to the crew not as an actor but as a director this time. It is officially confirmed that actor Jesse Lee will be directing episode 16 of the ongoing hit series. The episode will be released in the year 2023.
Jesse Lee Soffer Returns to Direct Chicago P.D Season 10
The tenth season which is the current running season of the show started to premiere on September 21, 2022. The latest episode of the season was episode number 5 which was titled ‘Pink Cloud’. The episode premiered on October 19, 2022. The next episode which is the sixth is scheduled to premiere on November 2, 2022. The episode is titled ‘Sympathetic Reflexes’. The episode directed by Jesse Lee will be number 16.
The news of Jesse Lee making a return to the popular series was made earlier as some fans spotted Jesse Lee on the sets again. It was through some candid pictures posted by the hairstylist of the series Uwana Rose that some eagle-eyed fans noticed that someone who looked a lot like Jesse Lee was hanging around the set. Later it was revealed that the pics were snapped by Rose during the production of episode 16, which was said to be directed by Jese Lee-where it all made sense.
After the news of him directing a new episode in the series was finally out, Jessie himself confirmed the news through Twitter. Rather than a new post about the news, he replied with a thumbs-up emoji and a clapperboard emoji to a tweet that said “#ChicagoPD is welcoming back @JesseLeeSoffer to direct episode 16!”
Jesse Lee was a member of the original cast of the show when the series started premiering in 2014. Until he retired from the series, Jesse Lee appeared in every episode of the series. As one of the main characters and being part of the crew for such long seasons, Jesse Lee has starred in almost 189 episodes of the series.
Jesse Lee played the character of detective Jay Halstead for almost ten years before he announced his retirement from the show in August 2022. After the announcement, actor Jesse Lee made his exit from the show through the episode titled ‘A Good Man’ which was the third episode in the series. The episode aired on October 5, 2022. The character was shown off going to join an Army group in Bolivia that tracks down cartel forces. Jay mentions that he will be gone for about eight months. The time frame gave slight chance for a guest appearance by Jesse in the series again but updates about him being back in the show for acting are not available as of now.
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The actor Benjamin Levy Aguilar has been assigned the task of filling in for the void created by actor Jesse Lee’s character detective Jay Halstead. Benjamin joined the crew of Chicago P. D in the ninth season and he was made a regular in the show before the start of season 10.
The news of Jesse Lee leaving the series after a long ten years was a big shock to his fans. Watching a character on the screen for such a long time makes people form a bond with the character and also makes them feel like they know the character in real life. The same was the impact created by Jesse Lee through his character Jay Halstead. The task of writing off such an impactful character also posed a great challenge to the creators.
The exit of a strong and iconic character from a show demands to portray such a strong reason and also it should be made sure that the reason justifies the morals and everything that character stands for in the show. It should be acceptable to the audience or else it could result in a massive negative response from the audience.
As for Jay Halstead, the strong and honorable policeman was self-aware of the changes that had happened to him and understood that those changes were not for good. He feared becoming someone who lives outside the law and wanted to restrict himself from being that. And just like that Jay leaves the show, for joining an Army group in Bolivia which tracks down cartel forces.
Being a part of the crew for such a long time, Jesse does not lack any experience or knowledge regarding the series, the elements that the audience like, or the way an episode should be rounded off. Being a part of the original crew from 2014, Jesse has also starred in multiple episodes of ‘Chicago Med’ and ‘Chicago Fire’. With all the experiences gathered over years, let’s hope episode 16 will be one of the best in the series.