Chicago P.D. showrunner reveals how Arienne Mandi’s addition will shake things up in Season 13: “She's a breath of fresh air”

Chicago P.D. is going through a major casting overhaul ahead of Season 13. After the action-packed events of the Season 12 finale, where Voight took some unthinkable steps to get rid of Deputy Chief Charlie Reid, it was announced that Toya Turner, who plays Kiana Cook, would leave the show.

The team will now be joined by a new female officer, Eva Imani, played by actress Arienne Mandi. Showrunner Gwen Sigan has divulged a few details about the new character in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

Sigan revealed that Eva Imani will bring fresh energy to Chicago P.D. as she would not be intimidated by Voight. She will eventually become his partner in solving cases despite their starkly different personalities:

“She's not this green, brand-new cop. She's been around and is able to be very honest with Voight right off the bat. We see her speak to him like he's anybody else on the street. She's a breath of fresh air.”

Gwen Sigan reveals how Arienne Mandi’s character will bring fresh energy to Chicago P.D. Season 13

Arienne Mandi’s casting in Chicago P.D. Season 13 was announced in July 2025. During the interview, Gwen Sigan revealed that Mandi’s character, Officer Eva Imani, comes from an ATF background and will get into action from the very first episode of the upcoming season:

“She's coming from the ATF so she's got a different background. She comes in hot. The first episode, she's tracking a gun trafficker undercover, and we wind up trying to find the same offender, so we end up working together. And it's great because she's coming in without any prior knowledge of Voight, so she's not intimidated by him.”

Meanwhile, dealing with a young and energetic new officer will not be the only challenge faced by Hank Voight. He will also have to face the aftermath of his impulsive actions, as he had Charlie Reid killed to put an end to his threat in the previous season. His team is still disbanded, and he will have to figure out a way to bring them back together. Talking about the plot, Sigan said:

“What we find is that Voight's simple solution that he thought he had found was not so simple. So the team is actually disbanded and we are, in this first episode, exploring how the heck is he gonna get them back together? The bullpen has just been empty for a month, so it's a very different feel to our start."

Chicago P.D. Season 13 will premiere on NBC on October 1, 2025. The events of the season will pick up a month after the previous season’s finale. Apart from Arienne Mandi as Eva Imani, the show stars Jason Beghe as Hank Voight and Patrick John Flueger as Adam Ruzek.

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The rest of the cast includes Marina Squerciati as Kim Burgess, LaRoyce Hawkins as Kevin Atwater, Amy Morton as Trudy Platt, and Benjamin Levy Aguilar as Dante Torres. Toya Turner, who starred as Officer Kiana Cook, is not returning for the next season.

Chicago P.D. Season 13 will debut on October 1, 2025, and will air new episodes on NBC on Wednesdays.

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