After four seasons, Sophia Bush is through brandishing her detective's badge. According to Deadline, the actor is stepping away from Chicago P.D., leaving the show without a female lead.
Deadline adds that the show is "mulling bringing in a new prominent female cast member, though it also may stick with its remaining cast." So it appears that nothing is set for the show in the wake of Bush' departure. Her leaving the show doesn't just affect Chicago P.D. Because all of NBC's Windy City-centric shoes exist in the same universe, Bush made almost two dozen appearances outside of Chicago P.D., including stints on Law & Order: SVU.
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Bush won't be totally gone right away, though. According to TV Guide, she will appear in the show's upcoming season as a guest star to wrap up Detective Erin Lindsay's storyline. In the season finale, she was contemplating leaving Chicago for a role at the FBI, though the show made it unclear whether she'd head to the bureau's New York outpost or stay put in the Second City.
Chicago P.D. is Bush's most prominent role after her breakout CW series, One Tree Hill. Deadline notes that the show's fifth season will include its 100th episode, but adds that the police procedural is a "testosterone-driven series" and that it's a "tough environment for a female performer." Bush's exit follows that of Matt Olmstead, the series' showrunner and co-creator, who bowed out in March.
Fans of NBC's Chicago shows are getting hit hard by news. In addition to the changes on Chicago P.D., the network cancelled Chicago Justice after its first season. Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Law & Order: SVU will remain on the schedule. NBC will add another Dick Wolf-helmed show this fall: Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, which stars Edie Falco and sounds a lot like FX's The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
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