NBC’s Chicago P.D. returned for season 11 at the beginning of 2024, and fans had a lot of questions.
Some were easy to answer, like “did Adam bleed out on the ground after getting noticeably shot at the end of last year?” He didn’t, and he’s fine, or as fine as you can be living in the midwest in January. But there were other questions without readily available solutions – most notably, “where’s Torres?”
Nobody’s seen hide nor hair of Officer Dante Torres since the penultimate episode of season 10, and the show’s explanation that the character is off helping his mom somewhere stinks of that “we sent the dog to live upstate” energy that you get when a show ditches a character between seasons. What’s more, Benjamin Levy Aguilar, who plays Torres on the show, has maintained eerie radio silence on the subject of his character’s wellbeing since the series went on break last May, saying nothing about a potential return to the One Chicago universe on any of his social media pages. Torres might not have had the longest tenure on Chicago P.D., only having joined the show in season nine’s “New Guard,” but the series wouldn’t get rid of him off screen, would they?
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Would Chicago P.D. abandon Torres in between seasons?
They wouldn’t. Or at least, they didn’t. Not this year, anyway.
The folks at NBC heard your concerns in the wake of Torres’ absence at the beginning of season 11, and they want you to know that they hear you. That’s why NBC Insider took the time to reassure viewers with a bad case of Torres withdrawal that everything would be okay, even if they couldn’t put a finger on when.
“Torres’ absence is not permanent,” they told Chicago P.D. fans in a recent article on the subject. “He will be back on our screens and with the team — during Season 11 — in no time.”
And there you have it. Torres is neither gone nor forgotten, just absent for the time being while the show focuses on other stuff, like Adam Ruzek’s ongoing recovery following the end of season 10, as well as the pursuit of justice in classic Chicago-style crimes, like the existence of Malort liquor, or the way that people in that city will sell you what’s clearly a lasagna and try to convince you it’s a pizza.
Chicago P.D.’s 11th season airs Wednesday nights on NBC, and streams the next day on Peacock.