The following contains spoilers for Chicago P.D. Season 10, Episode 1, "Let It Bleed," which debuted Wednesday, Sept. 21 on NBC.
The Chicago P.D. Season 11 premiere introduced a new chief, portrayed by Michael Gaston from the Martin Gero-created Blindspot. The new boss arrived, handed out medals to most of the Intelligence Unit and then had a heart-to-heart with Hank Voight about the future of the unit. He told Voight that he'd give him free rein to pick his own cases and bring on new recruit Dante Torres, but that Voight needed to get back to saving Chicago. However, do One Chicago fans need to care?
The series has given Voight almost as many bosses as Chicago Med has had short-lived doctors. The "white shirts" appear for a season or so, then someone else takes their place. Barbara Eve Harris was fantastic as Emma Crowley in Seasons 3 and 4, then Esai Morales played Chief Lugo in Season 4 and the Season 5 premiere. The late Anne Heche appeared as Katherine Brennan in Season 6, but Brennan killed her corrupt boss. Paul Adelstein took over as Jason Crawford in Season 7, followed by Nicole Ari Parker as Samantha Miller in Season 8 and the Season 9 premiere. Now Gaston is the latest guest star to fill a role that needs stability.
The gist of Chicago P.D. is that Voight and the Intelligence Unit operate within their own authority. NBC promoted the show in Season 2 with the tagline "Break the rules, not the law." Most scenes involving the team members and their supervisor are the typical arguments that take place in every procedural. However, just because Intelligence usually doesn't listen to the boss doesn't mean one shouldn't stick around. If the series wants to exist in any sort of reality, there has to be a boss to show that Intelligence is still within the police department. Without someone to contrast them against, Voight and his crew are essentially a modern-day A-Team.
The supervisor can also serve a storytelling function, either helping Voight to get out of unnecessary red tape or warning him (and thus the audience) of bigger consequences that go beyond a particular episode. Need someone to establish the political or social problem? Have a scene where the boss gets alerted to Intelligence's case. Want somebody to point out that Voight is going over the line, even for him? His drawing the attention of the higher-ups illustrates that, even if they rarely mete out consequences. Voight's at his best when someone is there to create a push and pull dynamic, and Chicago P.D. hasn't had that since killing off Alvin Olinsky. With Jesse Lee Soffer about to leave, Gaston's character can step in as the character who hammers home just how serious Voight's actions are.
Chicago P.D. has had some great actors play Voight's boss and hasn't been able to fully utilize any of them. Jason Beghe's scenes with Heche and Parker in particular were wonderful because Voight developed a rapport with both Brennan and Miller that was friendly instead of just butting heads. Voight advocated for Brennan in the character's last episode, and some fans even wanted him to develop a romance with Miller. It's possible that some of the actors booked other projects and weren't available, but the show has another winner in Gaston, whose career is chock full of hard-nosed performances. His other credits include the Law & Order franchise, Murder in the First and being the President in Jack Ryan. He can do great things opposite Beghe -- if he lasts through Season 10.
The writers of Chicago P.D. have shown that they can develop the boss role into something more layered than a mere annoyance, as demonstrated by both Brennan and Miller's story arcs. However, they haven't invested more than a season into doing so. Any threats or warnings made by the supervisor character don't carry weight if the viewer knows that character isn't going to last. And without a structure around them, what Intelligence does lacks any kind of internal tension. The series ought to commit to its latest chief and let Michael Gaston inject some more drama into a show that has plenty for him to sink his teeth into.
Chicago P.D. Season 10 airs Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. at NBC.