Why did Jesse Lee Soffer leave Chicago PD? Where is Halstead?

Why did Jesse Lee Soffer leave Chicago PD following this past episode? If you are missing Jay Halstead, we more than understand. He was a beloved part of this world and the Intelligence team, and that’s without even getting into his relationship with Hailey Upton. She will miss him more than anyone as he rediscovers himself and his sense of purpose with the Army.

Now, let’s get back to the big, burning question about Halstead’s exit. One week removed from the episode and still, there isn’t much news out there about why this happened when it did.

There is still reason for a lot of discussion here, especially since there are no reports that indicate it was Soffer’s decision to leave. Meanwhile, he also still seems to be on reasonably good terms with the show — that could just be due to how many seasons he was a part of this world and all of the friends that he’s made as a result.

From the outside looking it, the exit feels financial in nature, mostly because we’re seeing Kelli Giddish leave Law & Order: SVU for that reason and knowing what we do about the modern TV landscape, networks are looking to cut costs as fewer and fewer people choose to watch television live. It’s an unfortunate reality of where we are right now and we don’t foresee it being something that changes all that much in the near future with there being so many streaming options.

So what comes next for Jesse?

The one silver lining about the timing of this exit is that it gives him a chance to have a break for the next few months and then, he can dive back out into pilot season if he wishes. We don’t think a PD return is fully out of the picture, especially since his role was written out in a way that suggests he’ll only be good for a matter of months. We’ll just have to see if that changes…

Related – Get some more news when it comes to Chicago PD right now

Are you still sad that Jesse Lee Soffer has left Chicago PD following the events of this past episode?

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