Why Tracy Spiridakos Left Chicago P.D.

Fans are hanging on to the edges of their seat waiting to find out how Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) exits "Chicago P.D." on May 22. While we may not know exactly how or why she leaves the force, Spiridakos has revealed why she decided to leave the drama, and it's both good and bad news for her fans.

"I was just curious what was out there for me and wanted to switch it up, and that was it," she told Variety in May ahead of Hailey's exit. While that means fans will definitely get to see the actor taking on other roles and projects and letting Hailey's ponytail down for a change, the trade-off is her leaving the series. Spiriakos  added that she told Gwen Sigan, the showrunner for "Chicago P.D.," that she wanted to leave the show at the conclusion of Season 10. That's given them a full season to plan Hailey's exit, but it was no easy choice for the actor. "It was a hard decision — very, very hard. I love everybody on the show — cast, crew, producers, writers, everybody. It's such an incredible team." 

The Season 11 finale — "More" — teases bad news for Upton and sees her try to channel her fear of losing Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) into action. Spiridakos told Variety the last episode is intense, and notes it's action-packed. "I don't think anyone sits down the whole episode... There's a lot of really vulnerable moments. We see these characters, who we haven't necessarily seen be so vulnerable, you see a lot of that come through as well."

Speaking of vulnerability, there's one thing Spiridakos hopes she takes with her as she leaves the show.

When asked by Variety what qualities of Hailey's she hopes have rubbed off on her, Spiridakos mentioned her characters' open softness. "One of my favorite things about her is her vulnerability ... For me, I'm not great at vulnerability." The actor further explained that she tends to rely on awkward jokes as a sort of emotional crutch before further praising Upton. "That's something that I really love about her — that and how she is so much herself. She doesn't care if you love her or if you don't. Those are the two qualities that I hope have rubbed off on me a little bit, particularly the vulnerability."

Hopefully, Hailey won't have to be too vulnerable before her run on the show wraps for good. After all, Hank's life is on the line, and if she can't find out where he is he could very well become the next victim of Frank Matson (Dennis Flanagan). Plenty of foreshadowing in Episode 12 suggests Hailey Upton's mistakes could cost Hank's life. Time will tell who will survive when Hailey and the gang go toe-to-toe with evil for the last time.