Chicago PDseason 10 returns to screens on Wednesday March 22 after a three-week break - and so does Jesse Lee Soffer. Despite leaving the show in October 2022, he returns to make his directorial debut for episode 16. And, he had so much fun back on set he says he'd love to return next season to direct more episodes.
As for the other shows in the franchise, Fire and Med, Jesse told HELLO! that it "would be an interesting challenge," before choosing Fire: "I think they have more action and more stunts. It's more fun taking some crazy action piece and bringing it to life.That's always cool."
Jesse will make his directorial debut
Jesse Lee Soffer shares Chicago PD favorite scene
Jesse, who was with the show for over 10 years, confirmed he had quit in August 2022, and his last scenes aired in October 2023. Now, he is back as a director, and he shared with HELLO! the one scene that he is very keen for fans to see.
"There's a bit of action at the end when Voight kind of goes off alone," he shared with HELLO!, adding: "We're ten years into the show and Vought is ten years older, but, I think that we achieved making him look pretty badass and pretty capable still - it's a little Batman moment and I loved it."
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What episode of Chicago PD is Jesse Lee Soffer directing?
Episode 16 of season ten, 'Deadlocked' will see Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) take the stand in a high-stakes murder trial against notorious drug kingpin Arturo Morales.
But when it becomes clear that Morales and his henchmen have compromised a juror, Voight and the team work furiously to ensure justice prevails.
Jesse on set with the cast
Wednesday's episode will have an "old school PD episode" vibe, says Jesse."
I knew it was gonna be a Voight episode and I knew that he'd be going off the rails, [a] man on fire," Jesse says of his episode, "and I was like, 'This is gonna be great because it's an old school PD episode.' This is a throwback to how the show started - so I was really excited about that."
The episode is Jesse's first as a director, and he admits that stepping behind the camera doesn't make him the boss but instead the "key problem solver," a role he cherishes.
The episide will air March 22
"It's a puzzle. You have this script which is your template, and then you've picked these locations and then you've had a tone meeting about how the scenes are supposed to come out, and how they're supposed to be played, so you're trying to put all these pieces together and take what's on the page and bring it to life," he said.
"Then sometimes the location doesn't work exactly with how something was described in the stage direction. Sometimes an actor's idea of how something is written isn't quite what the writer or the producers intended. So you're constantly problem solving and putting all these pieces together in the right way to make the puzzle look correct.
"And I think as long as you're good at problem solving, you're going to do a good job."
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