‘Chicago P.D’ Celebrates 200th Episode With Action-Packed And Emotionally Intense Storyline

Chicago P.D. is going full throttle for their 200^th episode.

For context, very few series make it to this coveted mark. In fact, it’s taken this entry in the One Chicago franchise ten years to reach the milestone.

Because of this, the storyline had to be next level, says P.D. showrunner Gwen Sigan.

“We really worked to up both the emotional portion of the story as well as ramping up the action so that viewers will feel breathless as they watch,” says Sigan.

The creative team wasn’t kidding around when they settle on the theme, and title, of the episode, “Trapped.”

In the episode, Intelligence Unit Officer Kim Burgess finds herself on a moving train with a gunman and a bleeding victim, and then nearly submerged in a well, within a very short timeframe.

But, it’s important to note that the episode title seems to also be referring to Burgess inner-struggle with some personal trauma and as she tries to keep up with the demands of her job.

Sigan, who’s been with the series since its debut, having started as an assistant on the show, says that during the run of P.D. the storytelling has evolved quite a bit, explaining, “As the seasons progressed, we found a new formula that enabled us to be incredibly character focused but also be procedural and tell a case of the week.”

She says that earlier episodes focused less on one character and more on the ensemble, but now, “We’ve found a way to spotlight our characters and use parallel storytelling to get into their headspace as much as we can.”

While the other Chicago series feature medics and firefighters, professions that much of the population hail as heroes, P.D. has faced a bit more of a storytelling challenge as the national narrative around police work has changed in the last few years.

“We talk about this a lot,” says Sigan. “We’re never going to try to manipulate how someone feels about the police, so what we concentrate on is telling the stories of our characters and what they’re going through. And it’s important to note that our characters, like real life people, are flawed individuals who are operating within what is in many ways a flawed system. So, given all of this, what we’re really work to do is just create is an honest depiction of humanity.”

Along those same lines, Sigan is aware that some viewers might take issue with the series focusing on female trauma. But, she points out that, “What we’re doing is really digging into Burgess psychology and showing how what’s happened to her in the past informs the decisions she makes. One of those decisions she makes is to get help for her issues and in getting that help you see her grow. To me, that’s the most interesting, and definitely, positive part of this story.”

Part of that help, comes from Burgess going to therapy. Sigan details the process, saying, “In the beginning we see her reluctant to do this, but then that changes and you see why she was reluctant and the very real fear that’s at the bottom of it — she has this stigma in her head that if she admits that she has a problem what does that mean for her career, her livelihood? So, we discussed what that would look like and then we carefully constructed that journey.”

Marina Squerciati, who plays Burgess, was made aware of the storyline for the 200^th episode at that beginning of the season, says Sagin. “We talked about it, but as the showrunner I felt like we had to find a balance because there were certain things that I don’t want the actors to play until they’re on the page. But for something like this with Marina, in the way she portrays Burgess, she really had to help us build the arc to get to this episode, so it was a real collaboration between us.”

Speaking of putting in the work, Sagin says that shooting this particular episode, both on the train and in the well, required everyone on the team to really step up their game. “It was extremely difficult because we had serious time and budget constraints — we’re a television show and not a big budget film — but we were definitely trying to tell a big budget story here. First, we had a moving train with lots of people on it, and we had a this deep well full of water. With all of that, and the limitations that we faced, I just have to say that I’m so impressed with what we managed to do. “

She adds, “This is one of those episodes where you write it and it’s no longer yours. You hand it off and it becomes the cast and the crews, and you just hope that if everything goes right that it will become something memorable and I think it truly has. It’s an episode that I believe viewers will always remember, for both its intensity and its emotional moments as well.”

This is the very thing that Sigan hopes will keep regular viewers tuning in week after week, and that will attract some new ones as well. “This isn’t just another crime series, Chicago P.D. is about the characters and their complications and moral dilemmas, plus there’s also action and mystery. There’s truly a lot packed into each episode.”

‘Chicago P.D.’ airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC and is available for streaming on Peacock. The 200^th episode airs Wednesday, February 22^nd.