Where is Burgess in Chicago PD season 12? Explained 

Chicago PD, along with its One Chicago cousins, returned with a new season last week and is now all set to continue the tale through the year. With many new developments, new faces, and new storylines, this period of the television year is always full of big changes. One such noticeable change in the latest season's premiere was the absence of Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati), who is now one of the veteran officers of the force.

While her absence may have sparked some worry in fans, who have lost many of the beloved characters over the past two seasons, we can confirm that Burgess is off only for a temporary period.

The Burgess debate was solved at the very start of the premiere, where Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) discussed his call with Burgess, saying her "conference" was going well. So, we can assume that Burgess is temporarily off Chicago PD due to a conference that she is attending, but she should be back very soon, perhaps in the upcoming episode this week.

Her brief absence does hint at other things, however, which could be a big part of the Chicago PD storyline this year.

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Kim Burgess' absence may hint at a long-awaited arc on Chicago PD

While the actress may just not be available for this particular shoot, which led to her character being dropped from the episode, the writers may also be using this absence to kickstart an intriguing arc from the series.

Burgess' absence could have something to do with the long-rumored promotion that one of the characters in the show is about to get, and possibly very soon. Burgess, who is still an officer, may finally be promoted to detective this season, and rumors about this has been going around for quite some time now.

Now that Hailey Upton is also not a part of the series anymore, Kim Burgess is likely to get even more screen time and story arcs. In a previous interview with Give Me My Remote, Squerciati also discussed her character's promotion, saying:

"I think it's a theme….everyone knows she deserves it. But, like, I guess in life who don't you know that deserves a promotion and hasn't gotten it yet? So it's also great, she still has more to go and more to do. It leaves me really space to stay on the show to do more things, I guess."

Moreover, showrunner Gwen Sigan also indicated at this arc in a recent interview with TV Insider, adding:

"Someone's getting promoted, and it's somebody I think who's wanted it for a while and that it made a lot of sense for us,...In the [writers'] room, we've talked about that storyline for so long, but how do you make it a story? How do you make it interesting? How do you make it something that really reveals something about who this person is and is not just a piece of paper?"

While Chicago PD is yet to exactly align the details, fans have begun assuming that it would be Burgess whose character is given the shot at this.

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So, for the fans of the character and the actress, not only is she missing temporarily from action but is also likely getting a whole new story arc, which would continue through the 12th season of Chicago PD.

In all likelihood, she would be a part of Chicago PD season 12, episode 2, which is set to air on October 2, 2024.

All the episodes of the three One Chicago shows are now available for streaming on Peacock. Stay tuned for more updates.