CHICAGO P.D.: Gia-Rayne Harris on Sean and Upton’s Showdown, Making Her Network TV Directorial Debut

When Gia-Rayne Harris completed AFI’s Directing Program, she was faced with a familiar decision for most graduates: What comes next?

“I am somebody who throws everything at the wall to see what sticks; I definitely was coming out of film school, like, ‘What the heck am I gonna do with my life?'” Harris tells Give Me My Remote. Enter NBCU LAUNCH’s Female Forward program, which “aims to discover multidimensional, visionary creators and empower them to tell their authentic stories, providing them the resources to enhance their craft and professional skills and supporting them throughout their careers.”

“This program is obviously a dream,” Harris acknowledges. “You get to shadow [the show as part of directing prep] and then you get to direct—so why not try? I applied and the interview process began. And somehow, some way, these people believed in me. And so then there I am. Now I’m forever a part of the Female Forward cohort. And I think there’s been 45 directors launched from it, which is insane.”

Harris praises her Female Forward mentors, including directors Bethany Rooney and Mary Lou Belli, “who teach a course leading up to it,” she recalls. “I was in an interesting position because I was shadowing [CHICAGO P.D.]; I got put on the show immediately. So I was shadowing at the same time the course was happening, as well as doing my DGA training course. So a lot was happening. But those two, oh my God, you cannot beat the teaching that they offer. Read their book if you haven’t, ‘Directors Tell the Story.’ It’s too special to have them tell you exactly how they’ve been doing this for years and years and years, and to teach you how to prepare. That’s the one thing that nobody ever does—show you their preparation; that’s invaluable for directors. So I could not have done it without them. Truly.”

And now Harris’ work has come to fruition—her episode, “I Can Let You Go,” is airing Wednesday, January 18.

“CHICAGO P.D. and NBCU LAUNCH Female Forward Program gave me a chance to realize my dream of being a working professional TV director,” she says. “Thank you to everyone who made that happen—[CHICAGO P.D. director/executive producer] Chad Saxton for taking the biggest chance on me. My mother, who retired from police work just last year, was able to visit me onset—first time she’s been able to—and it sealed the deal on this being an experience I will never forget!”

Prior to officially starting, though, “I watched every episode of CHICAGO P.D. that there was to watch,” Harris says with a laugh. “I saw all of season 1 through 9 in a record amount of time—like I do wonder if it was a record. I’ve seen the show before, but I went from beginning to end [as prep]. And it’s funny, because before my first shadow, they were like, ‘You know, our style has changed pretty significantly. So focus on season 7 through 9.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I know everything that’s happened since day one.'”

Outside of just knowing what the show’s look was, Harris had a good reason for brushing up on all things CPD. “It was really important to me, because I didn’t know what my episode was going to be about, that I understand every single character’s arc and how they experienced it,” she notes. “So when I got whoever was going to lead up my episode, I know exactly what they’ve been through. And then, of course, the Sean of it all—Jefferson White is a dream. And so I wanted to understand how he worked. But thankfully I was there for his very first episode on the show, episode 5 [while shadowing], so I was able to see his character from beginning to end.”

With White still new to the CHICAGO P.D. world, “I was able to learn, just in general, how he might work differently,” Harris says. “Obviously I got to know the show pretty quickly, and those actors. But he’s on YELLOWSTONE; he’s been killing it all around, on different shows. So it was nice to see how different he operates, actually. And he was also kind of new to network [TV], as well, so we got to be new to CHICAGO P.D. together.”

And the hour will be a big one, as Sean—who viewers last saw on the verge of death—makes Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) an alarming offer.

“Get ready for a showdown,” Harris teases. “We have been building up to that, all season, between Sean and Upton. And there’s incredible chemistry there and danger to their relationship. So get ready for a showdown.”

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

RELATED:

• CHICAGO P.D.: ‘I Can Let You Go’ Photos
• CHICAGO P.D.: ‘Long Lost’ Photos
• CHICAGO P.D.: Benjamin Levy Aguilar Reflects on the ‘Beautiful’ Experience of Filming Torres’ Big Episode
• CHICAGO FIRE’s Derek Haas and Andrea Newman on Utilizing CHICAGO P.D.’s Amy Morton for Lighter Moments
• CHICAGO P.D.: Gwen Sigan Previews Burgess Seeing Ruzek in ‘a Different Light’
• CHICAGO P.D. Post-Mortem: Gwen Sigan on the Sean Twist and Upton’s Upcoming Emotional Reckoning
• CHICAGO P.D.: Gwen Sigan Teases the ‘Pressure Cooker’ Fall Finale, a Burgess-Centric 200th Episode
• CHICAGO P.D.: ‘Proof of Burden’ Photos
• CHICAGO P.D.: ‘Under the Skin’ Photos
• CHICAGO P.D.: ‘Into The Deep’ Photos
• CHICAGO P.D. Post-Mortem: LaRoyce Hawkins on Drawing on His Real History for the Emotional ‘Sympathetic Reflex’ Ending
• CHICAGO P.D.: ‘Sympathetic Reflex’ Photos
• CHICAGO P.D.’s LaRoyce Hawkins: ‘Every Empathetic Bone’ in Atwater ‘is Going to Be Tested’
• CHICAGO P.D: Jesse Lee Soffer to Direct a Season 10 Episode
• CHICAGO P.D.: Gwen Sigan Teases Diving into the Upton and Burgess Dynamics, Plus Atwater as a ‘Leader’
• CHICAGO P.D.: ‘Pink Cloud’ Photos
• CHICAGO P.D. Post-Mortem: Benjamin Levy Aguilar on Torres ‘Transformation’ Post-‘Donde Vives’
• CHICAGO P.D.: ‘Donde Vives’ Photos
• CHICAGO P.D.: Benjamin Levy Aguilar Previews Torres’ Adjustment to Intelligence and a Close-to-Home Case
• Jesse Lee Soffer and the CHICAGO P.D. Cast Bid Farewell to Jay Halstead
• CHICAGO P.D. Recap: ‘A Good Man’ Says Goodbye
• CHICAGO P.D. Gwen Sigan Previews a ‘Fully Grounded and Authentic’ Exit for Halstead
• CHICAGO P.D.: Gwen Sigan Teases Burzek in a ‘New Place,’ Finding Stability in Season 10
• CHICAGO P.D.: ‘A Good Man’ Photos
• CHICAGO P.D. Post-Mortem: Gwen Sigan and Jason Beghe on the ‘Fractures’ in Intelligence and Voight’s Decision
• CHICAGO P.D.: What You Need to Know About the Season Premiere
• CHICAGO P.D.: Marina Squerciati Teases the Theme for Season 10
• CHICAGO P.D.: Gwen Sigan Teases ‘Tension’ for Voight, Halstead, and Upton in Season 10
• CHICAGO P.D. Season 10 Premiere: ‘Let it Bleed’ Photos
• ONE CHICAGO: NBC Reveals New Posters for CHICAGO MED, CHICAGO FIRE, and CHICAGO P.D.
• CHICAGO P.D.: LaRoyce Hawkins Teases ‘Conflict’ Within Intelligence
• CHICAGO P.D.: Patrick John Flueger and LaRoyce Hawkins on Ruzek’s Big Gesture to Burgess
• CHICAGO P.D.: Gwen Sigan and Jason Beghe Tease the Pressure of the Op Getting to Voight and Anna
• CHICAGO P.D. Recap: Burzek Make a Big Decision About their Future
• CHICAGO P.D.: Marina Squerciati on Burzek’s Uncertain Future
• CHICAGO P.D.: Gwen Sigan Teases a Performing ‘Tour de Force’ in ‘Closer’
• CHICAGO P.D. Post-Mortem: Gwen Sigan Previews Burzek’s ‘Fragile’ Next Steps: ‘Things Will Come to a Head’
• CHICAGO P.D. Post-Mortem: LaRoyce Hawkins on Atwater and Celeste’s Confrontation
• CHICAGO P.D.: LaRoyce Hawkins Previews Atwater’s Connection with an Informant
• CHICAGO P.D.: Tracy Spiridakos and Jesse Lee Soffer on How Upstead’s Relationship with Voight Has Changed
• CHICAGO P.D.: Tracy Spiridakos and Jesse Lee Soffer Break Down Upstead’s Big Decision
• NBC Boss Teases Potential LAW & ORDER and ONE CHICAGO Crossovers
• Daily Dose of Joy: ONE CHICAGO Stars Play Trivia for Charity

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.