CHICAGO P.D. Boss Previews the Team’s Reaction to Dawson’s Addiction Reveal

CHICAGO P.D.’s Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda) mostly kept his lingering pain and dependence on pills out of the squad room, but his secret is out in the fall finale.

“I think he’s struggling with addiction, in a real and tragic way,” executive producer Rick Eid previews. “He finds himself in the throes of a pain medication addiction and it spirals out of control. It results in lots of unintended, bad consequences that requires his friends, his teammates, to ultimately risk their careers in a way to help save the day.”

Though Dawson has kept his coworkers in the dark, they react “with compassion, empathy, and ultimately with action,” Eid teases. “He’s a brother, and they want to help him, and they’re going to do whatever they can to do it. There’s some surprise, there’s some sadness, there’s some disappointment, but ultimately it’s empathy, compassion, and action. They want to help the guy.”

Dawson’s job—and the toll the entire team has been under, especially this year—made it so the show could dive into the dark, though realistic, storyline. “It’s the connection between having a legitimate shoulder injury and being in a job that has you be physically fit and capable—and taking the medication to help with that pain,” Eid says. “And that unfortunate reality some people have in response to opioids and addiction gradually swallowing who he really is and swallowing a different side of the character.”

But the ramifications of Dawson’s struggles go well beyond his own health and the reactions from the rest of 21st District in “Descent.” Eid teases, “It comes about as close to home as you can get.”

CHICAGO P.D., Wednesdays, 10/9c, NBC

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