Chicago PD Season 12 Casts New Series Regular Amid Questions Of Upton's Replacement

Summary Toya Turner's character, Kiana Cook, will bring a fresh perspective to Chicago PD as a patrol officer who thrives on chaos and adrenaline.

Cook's arrival signals a return to focusing on patrol officer stories, which will add depth to the show's storytelling and shake up its format.

Chicago PD season 12 aims to address long-standing issues by introducing Cook as a new patrol officer and revitalizing the show's storytelling.

A brand new series regular officially joins Chicago PD season 12 on the heels of Hailey Upton's departure. One Chicago is entering a brand new year with some big personnel changes. For Hank Voight's Intelligence, the special team based out of the 21st District will have to move forward without Tracy Spiridakos' Upton, who officially left in the Chicago PD season 11 finale. Since her exit, much has been discussed about who could replace her. Now, the show officially boards a fresh main character, although she may not fill the void that Upton vacated.

Less than two months before Chicago PD season 12 premieres, TV Line reports that the police procedural has cast a new series regular in Warrior Nun's Toya Turner. She will play Kiana Cool, "a patrol officer who loves the adrenaline of the job and its stakes and doesn’t blink in the face of chaos." Considering the position that Turner's character will play, the hunt for Upton's replacement will continue in the next few weeks.

How Toya Turner's Kiana Cook Changes Intelligence In Chicago PD Season 12

Cook Revives A Forgotten Aspect Of Chicago PD

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For years, calls for Chicago PD to bring back patrol officers persisted.

Since Turner's Cook will be a patrol officer, she won't be an official member of Voight's team. Instead, she will work more closely with Trudy Platt, who manages her department. That said, it doesn't mean that she won't have an impact on Intelligence's cases and success rate. For years, calls for Chicago PD to bring back patrol officers persisted. Both Kevin Atwater and Kim Burgess started as uniformed personnel roaming the streets of Chicago. Their stories would often be B-plots, but sometimes, they would intertwine with the bigger case that Voight and his squad were working on.

Cook's arrival signals that Chicago PD season 13 will resume doing patrol officer stories again. The show was criticized for Platt's reduced screen time in the last couple of years. Considering how interesting her character is, reviving this part of Chicago PD's storytelling hints that there will be increased focus on her again. Most importantly, the police procedural can move away from its divisive one-character/week format. While it allowed for every cast member to get their time under the spotlight, it quickly became boring and one-dimensional. Expanding its storytelling to other characters remedies this.

Related Chicago PD Can No Longer Fix Its Worst Character Assassination After Upton's Exit After Hailey Upton's exit, NBC and Wolf Entertainment can never fix Chicago PD's worst character assassination for an Intelligence member.

As One Chicago's universe returns next month without a promise of a much-clamored crossover, its police procedural can focus on fixing the issues that have been plaguing it for a while. Bringing in Cook as a new patrol officer is the first step towards that. Hopefully, Chicago PD season 12's next update will be on who will officially replace Upton in Intelligence.

Source: TV Line