Chicago P.D. Season 14 is almost here, and with it comes this news: we’re losing LaRoyce Hawkins, who has played Kevin Atwater since the first episode. One Chicago is no stranger to cast turnover, and considering how long these shows have been running, we can’t really fault actors for wanting to spread their wings and try something new. But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to miss Kevin, or that we’re not a tad concerned about exactly how he’s being written out.
To be fair, the show has a chance to give him a pretty clean, easy exit. Not just that, in an ideal world, he’s written out in a way that allows the character to come back, should he wish to. With Tasha (Karen Obilom) pregnant, and she and Kevin exploring not just what it means to be together but what the best thing for their child is, deciding to step back from such a dangerous job makes sense. And if Kevin does that but remains in the city, then he could easily come back for a guest spot here and there.
Why would he want to? Would the show have him back? Considering how successful the recent guest stints for Jesse Lee Soffer, who played Jay Halstead, and Tracy Spiridakos, who played Hailey Upton, the answer is likely hell yeah.
But will the show take the easy way out when it comes to writing Kevin off the show? We can hope, but there is also reason for concern. Both Jay and Hailey got less-than-great endings on the show, and let’s not even talk about Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda) or, worse, Alvin Olinksy (Elias Koteas).
Over on Chicago Fire, we’ve got some pretty bad examples as well, like Otis (Yuriy Sardarov) and Shay (Lauren German). And even on Chicago Med, last season, Marlyne Barrett’s Maggie Lockwood disappeared without a good explanation. And though the announcement that Hawkins would be departing came with the promise that he would be back to tie up his storyline, the same thing happened with Jay, and we were anything but satisfied there.
We know Hawkins has already filmed his last scenes. Marina Squerciati posted on social media saying goodbye, in what seems to have been a fun reunion.
Plus Sheila R. Brown, the Executive Director of the CineCares Foundation at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, also posted a little video after Hawkins filmed his last scenes.
It’s good to see everyone celebrating Hawkins and the character he gave us for thirteen seasons. We just hope he gets an ending worthy of what he built and that we get to see him again to check in at some point in the future.
How would you like to see Chicago P.D. write out Kevin Atwater? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago P.D. returns to NBC on October 7 at 10/9c.
