Netflix adds the first 5 (and best) seasons of “Chicago PD” to its catalog

August has arrived and with it the dream of many fans of “Chicago PD” has come true. The police drama created by Dick Wolf has arrived on Netflix. The mega streaming company has acquired only the first five seasons, however, for its true followers, these are the best ones.

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Since the arrival of “Chicago PD” on Netflix was announced, many media outlets speculated about how many seasons the streaming service would acquire. In real time, the police drama recently finished airing episode 21, the finale of its 13th season, in Latin America. Many things have changed, except its natural home: NBC.

In the United States, as with other shows created by Dick Wolf and his partners, “Chicago PD” airs on other networks, although partially. It is on Peacock, but also, for example, on Prime Video, or even on US Network.

In Latin America, the police drama led by Jason Beghe in the cast is on Universal+, and has all its seasons on Prime Video. It can also be seen daily — but not necessarily in order — on Universal TV.

WHICH SEASONS HAVE ARRIVED ON NETFLIX?

Netflix has acquired, for the moment, rights to the first five seasons of “Chicago PD”. The first season has 15 episodes. Seasons two to four have 23 episodes each, and the fifth only 22.

In the first seasons, the characters of the police drama quickly show their personality traits. We learn a bit about the history of Sergeant Hank Voight, a brave police officer (son of police officers) who puts his personal life aside (he is a widower and his son, barely an adult, has just been released from juvenile detention) to take care of the streets of Chicago, a city — which he defines — as “beautiful even if it is not.”

After negotiating to end up imprisoned in a confusing incident, Voight not only regains his freedom but also earns the position of head of the Intelligence Unit. Something surprising to many. How did he negotiate? He would pose as a corrupt cop to get the names of drug dealers destabilizing the city.

Already in his new position, Sergeant Voight presents himself with a diverse but full of personality team. His friend and colleague, Detective Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas), is second in command. Then follow Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda), also Sergeant (but of the station) Trudy Platt (Amy Morton), and Detectives Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), Adam Ruzek (still an officer) played by Patrick John Flueger, along with Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush), who is also a kind of adopted daughter of Voight. She once says that he picked her up from the streets after seeing her broken home. She served as an informant but then began to see Hank and his wife as her true family. Also the sergeant’s son.

We must not forget patrol officers Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins), who quickly, thanks to their talent, rise to intelligence officers. Currently (as season 14 is about to start), Kim is number 2 of the unit.

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As we said, in the first five seasons it is possible to see the personality of each cast member. In the premiere season — considered cult — several members of the unit get into serious trouble and it is Voight who leads their support.

First, a team member is killed, then Antonio Dawson’s son is kidnapped, then another unit member is shot in the head and killed. Each difficulty strengthens the team, so much so that the image they express is of a family.

The intensity of the first season, unfortunately, declines over time. The second is somewhat less agile, although also very good, and then little by little the cases get longer, lasting almost an entire episode. The personal space for agents to show who they are and how they live is also reduced.

Similarly, we will see budding romances, first forbidden by Sergeant Hank, although later inevitable. Erin falls in love with Jay and Kim with Adam. Each couple has a different development over time.

There is also room in these first seasons for what is now known as ‘crossovers’. Not only with the other two shows set in Chicago (Chicago Fire, which started it all, and much later Chicago MED), but, incredibly — those were different budget times — with “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”. Thus, we will see Sergeant Voight alongside the fierce Olivia Benson (who would rise to captain of the New York Police Department).

Although the series has lost some momentum today, it still maintains good ratings on American TV, so much so that season 14 has already started filming, with a painful departure from the cast, but with the usual expectations, this time resting on the shoulders of the writers, those specialists in bringing out the best of a show that gradually lost budget but paradoxically gained in loyalty from its fans around the world.

WHY DOESN’T NETFLIX DEFINITIVELY BUY “CHICAGO PD”?

The series is much more mature today. Its head, Sergeant Voight, is not the same as 14 seasons ago. His walk is slower, and his decisions more thoughtful.

However, that does not explain why the world’s most important streaming service does not pay Wolf Entertainment (Dick Wolf’s company, which in the future will be led by his son Eliot) to acquire the series entirely and bet on future new seasons, spin-offs, and more without skimping on money or executing the terrible budget cuts of the present. The only truth is that there are many factors behind “Chicago PD”. There is a network like NBC involved, good relationships over the years, verbal agreements, and perhaps other projects that explain the present.

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How long will all this last? Time will tell.