Chicago P.D. arrived in the 2024 TV schedule with a Season 12 premiere that did a whole lot more than just show what the Intelligence Unit is like without Upton. Burgess was also absent from the episode, and Ruzek was partnered with an old friend from his academy days... for most of the episode, anyway, until the shocking twist ending in which she was killed right in front of him. While it's a safe bet that Ruzek is in for a rough ride in the next episode, Marina Squerciati's new BTS photos are worth a smile.
Burgess wasn't missing from the Season 12 premiere (which is available streaming with a Peacock subscription) for any nefarious reasons. The in-universe reason was that she was at the NAWLEE – National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives – conference, where she was "learning a lot" but "thinking about coming back early" because she's "disturbed by her caseload," according to Ruzek. (The out-of-universe reason is likely tied to budget.)
It remains to be seen when Burgess will be back for some of the Burzek developments that showrunner Gwen Sigan previewed, but the actress was active on Instagram:
Marina Squerciati recruited Benjamin Levy Aguilar to help her recreate a picture that she took with Jesse Lee Soffer when he was still a series regular. The caption is where the post gets truly goofy in the best way, as she more or less told a story about Jake and Kate – a.k.a. Jay Halstead and Kim Burgess – via hashtags. The comment section did indeed provide some context for any fans who didn't already know the origin of "Jake and Kate."
Apparently, Soffer and Squerciati so rarely shared scenes together as Jay and Kim that they took to calling each other's characters Jake and Kate. Does the recruitment of Aguilar for the photo mean that Burgess and Torres are going to have limited screen time together as well? She did name him "Benji" in the post, after all!
In all seriousness, it's nice to see some humor out of the Chicago P.D. cast after the Season 12 finale ended on bloodshed and a shellshocked Ruzek. It seems safe to say that the cast of P.D. could celebrate the premiere like Tracy Spiridakos did, but the characters certainly had nothing to celebrate.
It's hard to say just how far along the cast is into filming the season at this point, although both actors are wearing coats. Showrunner Gwen Sigan also shared back in mid-September that the writers were working on Episodes 7 and 8 at the time.
Find out how Chicago P.D. brings back Burgess and moves Ruzek on after the Season 12 premiere with new episodes, airing on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. As always, P.D. airs after Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET. All three shows can be found streaming on Peacock.