Chicago P.D. Season 8, Episode 8 was the final one for executive producer and director Eriq La Salle.
It was an important episode for La Salle, not just because of the content, but because he felt it was “one of the finest hours of television” that he has ever directed.
La Salle, who burst on the scene as Dr. Peter Benton on ER (yes, he also played Darryl Jenks on Coming to America), had been a director since 2016 and as a producer since 2017 for Chicago P.D. His involvement behind the scenes deserves a lot of credit.
To this point, La Salle has received director credits on 21 episodes and producer credits on 55 of them. That’s quite a bit of content for One Chicago that La Salle has been directly involved in presenting to the NBC audience.
Now, he has decided that it is time to move on to other projects.
Eriq La Salle thanks Chicago P.D. and the fans
Taking to his Instagram account, La Salle posted an extensive note about his time with the show.
“This post is somewhat bittersweet. Tonight’s episode is truly one of the finest hours of television I’ve had the honor of directing and it is also my final episode as I’ve decided to retire as Executive Producer and Director from Chicago PD,” La Salle started his message.
“It was a very difficult decision because this has been not just an amazing job but truly one of the greatest highlights of my career. Some of my proudest moments in this industry have been during my tenure on this show and being allowed to tell the types of stories we’ve been able to tell,” La Salle continued.
He finished out the long note (it’s shared below) by writing, “Thank you to the fans of the show and those that have continually encouraged us by supporting and showing such appreciation for our tireless efforts and love of labor. Thank you for holding us to higher standards. To all that have been a part of this awesome journey I thank you. I miss you already.”
The March 10 episode of Chicago P.D. was certainly an important one. It involved a police shooting and really ramped up the drama in the partnership of Ruzek and Atwater. The episode is called Protect and Serve and it was definitely an hour packed with drama for the Chicago P.D. cast.
Atwater’s story arc in Season 8 has been an important one with what has been going on around the country and La Salle was proud to help tell that story with this latest episode.
More Chicago P.D. Season 8 episodes to come
Even though this is the end of the line for Eriq La Salle, Chicago P.D. Season 8 has to roll on. A new episode of the show airs on Wednesday night and the early promo for the episode makes it look like another good one.
More episodes featuring Deputy Superintendent Samantha Miller will also take place. Actress Nicole Ari Parker joined the Chicago P.D. cast for Season 8 and has already been able to hold scenes very well with Hank Voight.
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.