Chicago P.D. Set Was a Perfect Recipe for a Mental Breakdown
Chicago P.D. is one of NBC's longest-running cop dramas. The series had its pilot almost ten years ago and has had ten successful seasons so far.
Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead's show is a spin-off of Chicago Fire and focuses on the patrol officers of the 21st district. The star-studded cast, the heart-pounding action, and the engrossing drama have made it a must-watch.
However, things aren't that simple when you get down to them. For example, Sophia Bush's experience on set was anything but stellar.
A veteran actor, Bush has made a name for herself in Hollywood. In Chicago P.D., she starred in over 80 episodes as she flawlessly played Detective Erin Lindsay. Unfortunately, however, she left the show in 2017, much to her fans' dismay.
Looking back on her time on the show, Bush remarked that she was young and naïve when she started.
"And now I'm a grown-up," she said in an interview with AOL Build, "and I think I have different and deeper connections to my family and to my closest friends, and I live away from those people ten months out of a year and I work sixteen hours a day."
It takes a lot to be an actor. That becomes apparent only when the curtains close. She went on to say that she lost connections with her loved ones, and her health was in shambles due to the harsh schedule.
Adding to that, the Chicago weather made things worse. The show wanted to have a gritty and realistic tone and, as such, was shot on location. The city is situated far in the North and experiences extreme weather conditions. From scorching summers to freezing winters, the cameras rolled, and the cast acted. The weather was a huge factor behind Sophia Bush's complaints about her diminishing quality of life.
"I do a dream job," she admitted, "but there are days when the job is incredibly difficult. When it's emotionally taxing and it's 25 degrees below zero outside, and every 11 seconds someone's ripping my jacket off of me so we can shoot a scene, and I have pneumonia, and I haven't talked to my mom in three weeks, and I just wanna cry."
As Sophia exited the show, rumors began swirling as to the actual cause of her departure. While she openly complained about the grueling schedule, lack of contact with loved ones, and terrible weather, some people had other suspicions.
In 2016, Jason Beghe was investigated by NBC and Wolf Entertainment for "inappropriate behavior." The actor who plays Sgt. Hank Voight faced complaints of sexual harassment from several cast members.
Around the time the allegations were made public, Bush departed as well as another actress. This added fuel to the fire as critics began believing that Beghe had something to do with Bush leaving the show. Although he apologized, the controversies surrounding Beghe didn't seem to abate.
Regardless of why she left, it is clear that Bush made the decision that was a necessary step. With the tough set of Chicago P.D. things could have been much worse.