Toya Turner leaving Chicago PD, Kiana Cook; why?

After just one season on Chicago PD as Kiana Cook, it appears as though Toya Turner is (shockingly) saying farewell.

According to a report from Deadline, the actress is leaving the police drama after just one season as a regular. Meanwhile, the NBC drama is already looking to cast a new major character, someone from an ATF Task Force who has a history in the military — and is also described as a bit of a “loose cannon.”

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In a statement per the aforementioned website, Turner had the following to say:

“I’m grateful for the time I had bringing Kiana to life. Thank you to everyone who welcomed me so warmly.”

Why did this exit happen?

Well, for the time being there is a certain element of mystery to this — as difficult as that can be to handle. There has nothing out there that suggests that this was Turner’s decision to leave the show; meanwhile, we do know that exits often happen for either creative or budgetary reasons. The only thing that we can note at the moment is that it felt like Cook had her fans following last season, and that there was nothing about her story arc that made us think that she would be leaving anytime soon.

The unfortunate reality here is that exits are fairly common within the Wolf Entertainment universe. These shows are all huge episode commitments, and we do think that plays a part in the decisions by some people to department. Meanwhile, they also do operate on a tight budget and that also is a factor.

Fingers crossed, we do hear a little bit more about the reason for Turner’s exit between now and when the show returns this fall.

Related – Get more news on Chicago PD now, including when the next season could premiere

Are you shocked that Toya Turner is leaving Chicago PD so soon?

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