Brace yourselves, One Chicago Fanatics.
There’s new blood clocking in for a shift on Chicago PD, and she promises to be a fiery addition to Intelligence.
The thirteenth season will see a fresh face when The Night Agent‘s Arienne Mandi joins the show as a series regular, rounding off the Intelligence Unit.
If you’ve been following along, it feels like a revolving door of character exits and cast departures within the Dick Wolf Universe across two networks and three franchises. You’d know that, much to our chagrin, Toya Turner departed the series after one season as Kiana Cook.
We still lack clarity regarding the abrupt exit with no proper sendoff. It could be anything from more cost-cutting measures to the ever-elusive “creative decision.”
Many have speculated it’s the latter because, despite being a breath of fresh air and one of the true highlights of Chicago PD Season 12, what we know of the new character suggests that they’re going in a radically different direction.
Or it’s more of the same, depending on one’s outlook on the matter.
When a series has been on for as long as Chicago PD, it’s unsurprising that the primary tactic to shake things up a bit is to introduce new characters with different personalities who can challenge the legacy characters and potentially cause a lot of conflict.
It sounds like Mandi’s role as the tentatively named (names are often subject to change) Naomi Kerr.
While we’re still deeply disappointed about losing Toya Turner’s Kiana Cook, we’ve enjoyed One Chicago long enough to know that people come and go, and it’s always worth it to give new characters their fair shake.
Because you never know if they’ll become your favorite!
Fortunately, anyone familiar with Arienne Mandi’s work knows that she’ll bring her A-game and something fresh to the series.
She was previously in the second season of The Night Agent, playing Noor Taheri in one of the season’s strongest and most intriguing performances.
Mandi also starred in The L-Word Generation Q as the brilliant, accomplished, and beautiful Dani Núñez.
But now, Chicago PD will provide her with something different to chew on, as she goes from a spy thriller to a police procedural, and Naomi Kerr sounds like a force.
The question is whether or not this character will bring something fresh to the series or feel like more of the same.
We know that Naomi Kerr will be an officer who has a military background. She’s also part of the ATF Task Force, which could bring a different energy to the show.
Naomi is also someone who has previously been teased as a “loose cannon,” and now we know that she “thrives in dangerous situations” and that she’s a fearless outsider who keeps things close to the vest.
When you consider that, she’s vastly different than Kiana, who was a quiet but formidable team player who managed to blend in with Intelligence effortlessly.
It doesn’t sound like Naomi is someone who will effortlessly fit in with the others, and for a group that has become tight-knit like a family, that could be a rich source of conflict and tension for the season to explore.
While Chicago PD Season 12 had Intelligence poised to go up against Reid, particularly at the end, we didn’t get to see much of that unfold onscreen throughout the season.
And we certainly didn’t get to see what it’s like for members of the same unit to butt heads, so to speak. That’s something we haven’t experienced much at all, so Naomi’s potential isolationist vibe and impulsivity could clash with the others.
In short: what if they’re angling for a complex character who doesn’t always play well with others?
It could be interesting and add a different vibe to the unit, and it would be intriguing to see how the other characters navigate that, especially Voight. Or, hell, Torres, who is also someone known to be guarded, actually seemed like he had a kinship with Kiana.
We all know how difficult it is to break in a new partner, right?
It’ll also be interesting to see if Chicago PD will take full advantage of all the actress has to offer.
Mandi is a wonderful talent who speaks multiple languages, in part due to her multiracial background. As a Latina and Iranian queer woman, her presence on a series that can sometimes feel limited in terms of diversity is refreshing.
And as we know from Kiana and Torres, as of late, the series has done a much better job at organically highlighting its diversity compared to some of the earlier seasons, where they would at times tokenize Atwater or give him very limited arcs that directly linked to his standing as a Black male police officer.
It’s possible that they’ll continue with that for Naomi, and we’ll get to see a different perspective on what policing is like for her as a multiracial woman with a military background to boot.
The series could also delve into the effects of her background as a veteran and contractor on how she approaches the job or puts herself in dangerous situations.
Chicago PD has explored numerous PTSD arcs with characters such as Halstead, Mouse, Upton, Burgess, and Torres. It’s either something they could put a fresh new spin on again, or they could do something unexpected and not even touch it with Naomi.
But more than anything, Naomi sounds chaotic and like a walking, talking form of conflict for the Intelligence Unit, and with an actress like Mandi portraying her, it’s more reassuring that this could be another way to shake things up in an interesting way rather than a reflection of the series delivering more of the same.
Of course, we’ll have to see when the season starts.
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