The Chicago P.D. Season 9 Episode 3 Scene That Means More Than You Think

Dick Wolf's "One Chicago" franchise has been taking over NBC for nearly a decade, spawning a fictional universe filled with first responders across a variety of institutions. The franchise began with "Chicago Fire" in 2012 and has grown to include the police procedural "Chicago P.D.," and the medical drama "Chicago Med." The most recent addition, the legal series "Chicago Justice," debuted in 2017. The characters on these shows also pop up in crossover episodes as they all work to protect the people of Chicago, thus fleshing out this intricated extended television universe.

"Chicago P.D." is currently airing its ninth season. It's filled with all of the chaotic drama and uncovered secrets you'd expect in a show about police officers, mixed in with plenty of interpersonal relationships outside of the station. In this vein, a recent episode of "Chicago P.D." Season 9 featured a heartwarming cameo that most fans probably wouldn't have realized during their first viewing.

On the third episode of Season 9 of "Chicago P.D.," titled "The One Next to Me" (via IMDb), Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) is confronted with his dark past when the authorities connect a past U.S. Army buddy of his to a deadly bomb blast. He goes undercover to investigate his old friend and relives some of the hardships from his army days in the process (via Fansided). To amp up the emotional aspect of the story, the showrunners decided to use some unconventional extras to bring real-life meaning to the scene.

In one scene, Halstead goes to a veterans support group to look into his former associate. Ahead of "The One Next to Me" airing on NBC, the Twitter account for production company Wolf Entertainment posted an intriguing fact about the actors featured in this section of the episode. Wolf Entertainment shared, "We had 15 real-life veterans portray background actors for tonight's #ChicagoPD scene at the VA hospital! Thank you for your service! #OneChicago." It was impactful to see actual veterans be open about getting support after leaving the service, even if it was through the guise of a television show. Plus, it made the scene all the more real after learning of the identities of the extras.