Dick Wolf's One Chicago shows have lots and lots of memorable characters at any given time, but some of them stand out from the massive crowd of Windy City first responders. That's why it came as a blow when, in 2022, "Chicago P.D." favorite Jesse Lee Soffer bid the show farewell. Soffer's Jay Halstead was a fan darling for much of his time on the show, both by himself and as one half of the popular "Linstead" relationship with Sophia Bush's Detective Erin Lindsay.

Unlike "Chicago Fire" star Yuri Sardarov -- whose character was written out as one of the major emotional blows the franchise likes to deal every once in a while -- it was immediately clear to all that Soffer's departure from the show was the actor's personal choice. He didn't really elaborate on his reasons at the time, but in a 2023 interview with Variety, Soffer finally opened...