‘Chicago P.D.’: LaRoyce Hawkins Has Eye on Detective Badge for Atwater in Season 12

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Intelligence is going to look a bit different when Chicago P.D. returns for its 12th season in September. Tracy Spiridakos‘ last episode was the Season 11 finale, and with that, Detective Hailey Upton left CPD for places unknown. (“We wanted [that] final moment to feel hopeful. There were so many opportunities and she now has this world of possibilities. So I loved the idea that we kept it open-ended,” executive producer Gwen Sigan told TV Insider after the finale.)

So how will the rest of the team, including Officer Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins), be handling that? What kind of new teammate does he want to fill that spot?

“To be honest with you, I don’t think I’m really worried about teammates as much as I would really love to be a detective, since it doesn’t seem like we have any detectives on the unit,” Hawkins admitted to TV Insider at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. “Somebody should probably step up. Somebody might deserve that role with those responsibilities, but it’s up to the powers that be, naturally.”

“Do you see this campaign trail we’re witnessing right now?” Chicago Med‘s Jessy Schram asked. Fire‘s David Eigenberg agreed: “He’s detecting the audience for a pulse of this.” Both agreed they can see Hawkins’ character as a detective.

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Hawkins is right, after all, about the ranks in Intelligence heading into Season 12. Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) is a sergeant, while Atwater, Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger), Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati), and Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) are all officers. The possibility of a promotion for one of those officers to detective is one that Sigan knows people want to see.

“It’s always a possibility. I think story-wise, it’s not as exciting of a story as you want it to be,” she told us. “It’s really a test and then they do the same job. So yes, it’s definitely a possibility. I think they’re all pretty ready for it as terms of they’ve earned it.”

As for bringing in a new character with Intelligence short-staffed, after the finale, Sigan said, “It’s going to be very fun to come up with some ideas and a new character and what a new character could add and how it would shift up the dynamics of the unit and new stories to tell. I think it will invigorate the show a lot to have somebody new come on.”

Do you want to see one of the officers get promoted in Season 12? Let us know your hopes for Intelligence in the comments section, below.

Chicago P.D., Season 12 Premiere, Wednesday, September 25, 10/9c, NBC

-Reporting by Meaghan Darwish