Why Archie Kao's Sheldon Jin Left Chicago P.D. After One Season

"Chicago P.D.'s" audience is fiercely loyal, just like anyone who's plugged into the larger "One Chicago" universe with "Chicago Med," "Chicago Fire," and the short-lived "Chicago Justice." Early on, people could tell they were a part of something big brewing on broadcast TV, and the season 1 finale rewarded that investment. Archie Kao's Sheldon Jin was a valued member of the "Chicago P.D." team under Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), and viewers probably weren't expecting him to bite the dust so soon in the show's run. But "Chicago P.D.'s" showrunners had to demonstrate how serious things really were for this procedural, and Archie Kao's character was the vehicle to achieve that goal. Needless to say, the viewers were shook; these crime show ensembles usually stick together for at least two seasons before a drastic change goes down.

In an interview with TV Guide, "Chicago P.D." showrunner Matt Olmstead talked about making the decision to kill off Sheldon Jin so suddenly, and he instantly knew this was a big decision that would radiate out through the show. Olmstead shared that "it was intense. We were very close. We knew right away we were going to miss Archie a lot. That's a hard blow to take, but it made the finale really intense and kind of amazing." He's not kidding there; filming this kind of broadcast show is a massive time commitment and the cast had been together for an entire season by the time everyone realized what was coming!

Moves like this are common when a season 2 needs a massive hook to lure folks in, and unfortunately for Kao, Sheldon Jin was just the name to shock people watching at home. Fortunately, the showrunner says this wasn't motivated by any ill will whatsoever, and the crew is still really fond of the actor. Sometimes, to move a story forward, there are going to be familiar faces taken off the board unexpectedly; that's exactly what happened to the Intelligence Unit's sitting tech expert.

Archie Kao's Sheldon Jin was the man bringing the Intelligence Unit all of their surveillance knowledge throughout season 1. In a setup like the one on "Chicago P.D.," having that key guy on the tech side is basically invaluable. He was a member of the team that felt like they would be harder to kill off. Things bubble over definitively in "A Beautiful Friendship," the season 1 finale.

Fans have the rug pulled right from under them when Jin's status as an FBI informant trying to get incriminating information about Sergeant Hank Voight comes to light. Jin had been reporting directly to the sneaky Edwin Stillwell (Ian Bohen), and the audience comes to find out that he's being blackmailed because of his parents' immigration status. As soon as audiences get introduced to the initial betrayal, they're left to digest Jin's quick murder and the obvious implication that Voight is responsible after a heated exchange.

Olmstead talked about the effective table-setting that scene causes in the same TV Guide interview. "It shakes everybody up," the showrunner explained, "definitely for the next three or four episodes until people can re-galvanize as a family, but people have some hard feelings about how it all goes down." That sense of distrust and loyalty runs throughout "Chicago P.D.," and this is just one of multiple instances that expose the team's loyalty isn't quite as ironclad as the audience would believe. In this way, the narrative turn is wildly successful, if a bit unfortunate for Archie Kao.

Broadcast television is full of examples of shows pulling stunts where a big character dies as a hook for the next season. "Chicago P.D." is just one of many. In an era where those ratings have to stay up for many programs to even have a slight hope of remaining on air, you have to make some decisions that make the viewers sad. Archie Kao has been a workman-like TV actor over the course of his career, and you rarely ever hear of him doing anything to draw attention to himself. The decision to have Sheldon Jin meet that grisly end was just to shock the audience and not some reaction to his conduct. Despite everyone parting on good terms, it's still sad when a friendly face ends up being sacrificed for the good of the larger show, but that's the reality of television to this day.

The "One Chicago" universe of shows is so strong because of the shared setting between these programs, but also the miles and miles of lore underpinning each series. Jin's death is a moment where the constant questioning of Voight's methods and morality comes into even sharper focus, and that's an important factor in the later seasons of the show. The fact that "Chicago P.D." is headed into season 13 is a testament to the audience's ties to the entire Intelligence Unit, but it takes a while to become a TV mainstay. Getting out of those early episodes with the audience still invigorated is key to keeping that loyal fandom growing. It stinks for Sheldon Jin, but the actor that played him likely helped ensure the show's future.