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Elias Koteas Hugs Tracy Spiridakos In New Pics from His Secret Return to Set
Koteas made a surprise return as Olinsky in Chicago P.D.'s Season 11 finale.
Olinsky and Upton forever! The Chicago P.D. Season 11 finale, "More," contained both a final appearance and a surprise return, and seeing the actors reunite behind the scenes is so sweet. Check it out below.
Tracy Spiridakos and Elias Koteas reunited
Elias Koteas played Alvin Olinsky for the first five seasons of Chicago P.D. before his character was stabbed to death in prison after taking the fall for what Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) did to avenge his son. In Season 11 as Voight, held captive by serial killer Frank Matson, suffered from blood loss-induced hallucinations, Olinsky returned as a ghost or a vision, telling Voight to hold on to life so that Detective Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) could rescue him, which she did.
RELATED: A Complete Timeline of the Chicago P.D. Cast Departures That Shocked Fans
This was also the last episode for Upton. After eight seasons on the show, Spiridakos left Chicago P.D. following the Season 11 finale. But Olinsky's appearance in the episode meant that the former co-workers were able to be together for her last days on set, which is just too sweet. At the time, the cast and crew had to keep Koteas' return a secret so fans would be surprised during the finale.
Spiridakos posted pictures of their reunion on Instagram, writing, "I’m so glad Luce had a camera to capture our reunion. Love you so much!" and sharing pictures of their warm hug. (Brian Luce is a producer on the series.)
The actress recounted Koteas' return to set to NBC Insider. "I think all of us were emotional and just excited," she said. "People kept coming around, like [Patrick John Flueger] came to work and he was like, 'Where is he?' Like everyone’s just looking for him. We’re just trying to find where is... and he’s such a good hugger too. A lovely day, all around."
Fans were so excited to see the pair together again.
"I’m glad he got to be there on your last day and it was good to see him on Chicago P.D. again I missed him," wrote one on Instagram.
"My favorite Greek Canadians!!! I think we were all happy to see him back on P.D.!" added another commented. A third fan vocalized the feeling so many Chicago P.D. fans about losing Spiridakos, which is that we are excited see her back on our screens, whatever the project: "Can’t wait to see what this journey brings next for you, you’re going to continue to make your mark no matter what you do🫶"
Why Tracy Spiridakos left Chicago P.D.
The actress made the decision to leave at the end of Season 10, giving the writers time to find a natural end to her character's story.
"It was a really hard decision, and I don’t know that there’s ever a right time," the 36-year-old told NBC Insider. "I think I’ve been on the show for just over seven years, like seven and a half-ish years, and I was just wanting to switch it up and kind of see what else was out there. That was really it. I’m so close with everybody. With our producers, [showrunner] Gwen [Sigan], our writers, our cast, our crew. It was a really difficult and emotional time, for sure."
RELATED: LaRoyce Hawkins Tears Up About Tracy Spiridakos' P.D. Exit: "She's Like a Sister"
"We got to see her kind of go through [it] all... At the beginning there’s the absolute fear of what’s gonna happen to Voight," she said of Upton's last hurrah. "And she lets that fear overtake her; loses her temper, and you know, starts to feel like she’s losing control. But then we get to see her kind of ground, come back down, and focus that attention and that energy with the team and to outsmart Matson... We see at the end it’s this really vulnerable and lovely scene with Voight. And [we] see her go in a happy kind of way, which I really liked."
