Jesse Lee Soffer is turning in his badge on “Chicago P.D.” The upcoming 10th season will be the last for Soffer, Variety can exclusively announce. The actor has portrayed Det. Jay Halstead since the NBC series’ debut in 2014, appearing in all 187 episodes. He will be departing sometime in the fall.
“I want to thank the incredible fans for their unwavering support during the past 10 years and want to express my deepest gratitude to Dick Wolf and everyone at Wolf Entertainment, Peter Jankowski, Matt Olmstead, Derek Haas, Michael Brandt, Rick Eid, Gwen Sigan, NBC, Universal Television, my fellow castmates and our incredible crew,” he said in a statement to Variety on Monday. “To create this hour drama week after week has been a labor of love by everyone who touches the show. I will always be proud of my time as Det. Jay Halstead.”
Halstead has been at the center of the show since the beginning; over the past two seasons, he’s become Sergeant Hank Voight’s (Jason Beghe) right-hand man and married Det. Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiradakos).
“Chicago P.D.,” one of Wolf’s nine shows currently on the air, has experienced many changes both in front of and behind the camera through recent years. Last October, writer and executive producer Sigan took over as showrunner, as Eid exited to focus on his role as showrunner on both “Law & Order” and “FBI.”
Additionally, Benjamin Levy Aguilar, who guest starred in the Season 9 finale, was upped to series regular over the summer. He will reprise his role of Dante Torres, a rookie in Intelligence coming up from patrol. Marina Squerciati, Patrick Flueger, LaRoyce Hawkins and Amy Morton also star.
Soffer, who has been acting since age six, made his debut as Jay Halstead in the Season 2 premiere of “Chicago Fire,” which led to the first spinoff series. Prior to joining the “One Chicago” world, he had a main role on “As the World Turns,” appearing on 502 episodes and earning three Daytime Emmy nominations.
He is repped by UTA, Ethos Entertainment and Schreck Rose Dapello & Adams.
“Chicago P.D.” is produced by Universal Television, in association with Wolf Entertainment. Wolf, Sigan, Eid, Haas, Jankowski, Brandt, Gavin Harris, Chad Saxton and Arthur W. Forney serve as executive producers.
Season 10 premieres on NBC Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 10 p.m. ET.