The stars are aligned for another One Chicago return. After five seasons away from the 21st District, Antonio Dawson could come back to Chicago P.D. if everything goes according to plan. Keep reading for what Jon Seda, the actor who plays Antonio himself, said about his character’s possible to return to One Chicago.
Chicago P.D. is NBC’s police procedural drama following the personal and professional lives of patrol officers and detectives at the Intelligence Unit in the 21st District of the Chicago Police Department. The series — which is created by Dick Wolf, the same mind behind franchises like Law & Order and FBI — premiered in 2014. It’s the second series in NBC’s One Chicago franchise, which also included Chicago Fire and Chicago Med.
Seda played Antonio Dawson, a senior detective with the Intelligence Unit, from Seasons 1 to 6 of Chicago P.D. He left the series to star in One Chicago’s spin-off, Chicago Justice, which followed the State’s Attorney team of prosecutors and investigators, however, the series was canceled after just one season. Antonio is also the older brother of Gabby Dawson, a paramedic, firefighter and original cast member on Chicago Fire.
Since leaving Chicago Fire, Seda has remained a part of the NBC family as Dr. Sam Velez on the science-fiction drama, La Brea. With the series ending with its final season in 2024, One Chicago fans can’t help but wonder whether there’s a chance Antonio Dawson could return Chicago P.D. So is Antonio Dawson coming back to Chicago P.D.? Let’s hear it from the man who plays Antonio himself.
Is Antonio Dawson coming back to Chicago P.D.?
Is Antonio Dawson coming back to Chicago P.D.? The stars are aligned for it to happen. In an interview with Us Weekly in January 2024, Jon Seda, who played Antonio on Chicago P.D., confirmed there’s a chance he could return to Chicago P.D.
“It’s always with me,” he said. “It was a great time working on Chicago shows. It was incredible, amazing cast.” He continued, “That whole universe is incredible. It was so unique. But it was so unique and to be a part of it from the beginning was really something special.”
Seda also explained why there’s a chance Antonio could return to Chicago P.D. “Antonio didn’t die,” he said. “He’s still alive.” Seda’s schedule also lines up with a potential return to Chicago P.D. His current series, La Brea, is set to end with its third and final season in 2024, which would give him the opportunity to come back to Chicago P.D. if he wanted.
There are also several empty spots open in the 21st District. Season 10 saw the exit of Senior Detective Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), while Season 11 will see Detective Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) leave Chicago P.D., meaning that Antonio could fill either role. Viewers also learned in the Chicago P.D. Season 11 premiere that Adam Ruzek had taken a break from the force after almost dying in an undercover investigation in the Season 10 finale.
La Brea is NBC’s Science-fiction drama series that follows a group of people who are pulled into the depths of a massive sinkhole that opens in the middle of the area around the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California.
After they’re pulled into the sinkhole, the survivors find themselves in a mysterious and dangerous prehistoric land where they must band together to survive. Seda plays Dr. Sam Velez, a physician and former SEAL, on La Brea.
Seda told Us Weekly at the time that he was “satisfied” with the script for the finale of La Brea and noted that the writers “did an incredible job” wrapping up the series. “There [are] a lot of unanswered questions that I know the fans want they want to have,” he said.
“I think they’re going to be satisfied.” He went on about the “creative” storylines in La Brea Season 3. “You’ll be surprised. This season is packed with a lot of stuff … there’s romance, there’s drama, babies,” he said. “We’re trying to find her and there will be answers.”
