When Chicago PD kicked off its twelfth season on Sept. 25, it did so without two key members of the show’s cast: Tracy Spiridakos and Marina Squerciati.
Spiridakos’s absence in the episode was far from shocking as her exit from the show had been announced last season, and we knew Upton would not be returning in any capacity in season 12. Squerciati’s absence, on the other hand, left fans quite surprised and with a lot of questions.
In the season 12 premiere, we quickly learned that Burgess was away at a conference in New Orleans and she ended up not appearing at all in the season premiere. While the show gave us an explanation of where Burgess was, it was jarring for a series regular on the show not to be present in the season opener and no clear reason was provided for her absence in the episode.
The assumption is that Squerciati’s absence was due to budgetary constraints as it had been previously reported that the show’s series regulars might not appear in every episode of the season; however, it was also assumed initially that Burgess would be back for the show’s second episode airing on Oct. 2. As we’ve since learned, that is not the case.
Marina Squerciati confirms when Burgess will return on Chicago PD
After missing the first episode of Chicago PD season 12, the comments on Marina Squerciati’s social media posts have been flooded with questions from fans about whether she’s left the show and when exactly they can expect Burgess back.
While Squerciati has not commented on why Burgess was not present in the first episode, she has confirmed that she will be back soon… just not as soon as fans might have expected. As it turns out, Burgess won’t return until the third episode of season 12, airing Oct. 9 on NBC.
“I’m okay! See you in episode 3,” Squerciati told fans in the comments of her latest Instagram post after being asked once again by fans about why her character did not appear in the season premiere. The confirmation from Squerciati is sure to be a relief for fans who are eager to see Burgess back on the job alongside her teammates in the Intelligence Unit.
Given the events of episode 2 are set to pick up right where the season premiere left off, it makes sense that Burgess is not yet back in Chicago as her character will still be in New Orleans at the conference during the events that unfold in the second episode of the season.
Considering Squerciati will have missed the first two episodes of the season, we’re optimistic that she won’t miss too many other episodes within the season or that it’ll at least be a while before Burgess misses another episode once she returns to action in episode 3!
Don’t miss new episodes of Chicago PD every Wednesday at 10/9c on NBC and streaming on Peacock!
