Hovering in the back of Chicago PD’s 13th season has been newcomer Eva Imani (Arienne Mendi) and the mystery of her missing sister, Shari, who was kidnapped at the age of six and is presumed to be a victim of trafficking.
Sergeant Voight (Jason Beghe) has helped Imani work the case in the background over the season, and it came to a dramatic and devastating conclusion on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in ways that no one would have expected.
Showrunner Gwen Sigan tells HELLO! that the writing team always knew the final episodes of the season would center on Imani’s search for Shari and that she “wouldn’t be what we were expecting to find”.
“That, to us, thematically fit with the season as a whole, gave us the most to play with for Imani in the aftermath of it, and felt like a really nice journey to portray a lot of what’s been going on with Voight and the other characters,” says Gwen. “This idea of being born or made, and our relationship to violence.”
© Lori Allen/NBCViewers saw Imani find Shari after Lila, a sex worker, was murdered, and the team connected Shari to the victim. Episode 20 concluded with Shari – going by the name Summer – in custody and with no recollection of who Imani was, or their connection.
Throughout the finale, viewers discovered that Shari had forged a deep bond with her kidnapper, who had acted as her father in her younger years and was now known as her husband. However, as Imani’s hopes of a positive reunion faded away, Voight discovered that it was Shari who had murdered Lila, and the episode ended with the pair faced with the decision to bury the evidence or not.
© Lori Allen/NBCThat decision will bleed over to season 14, says Gwen, whatever Imani and Voight choose to do. “There are consequences to either [decision] and for the pair of them and how they will work together,” she continues.
“Either they have this big secret and this thing that they need to lie about, or real tension in their relationship because if they don’t do this thing, that means that this woman’s probably in prison unless the jury goes very easy on her. Either way, there will be repercussions for the two of them.”
© Elizabeth Sisson/NBCWhen viewers met Imani in the premiere episode of season 13, she was a lone wolf former ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) agent who joined the Intelligence Unit, with the sole purpose of using their resources to find her sister. But what does Imani’s life look like now her purpose has been met?
Gwen suggests that we may not have seen the last of Shari.
“There’s so much in Imani’s life that I’m interested in exploring now that she has found her sister,” says Gwen. “She’s done the thing that she set out her whole life to do, and how does she move forward with her sister? What does that relationship look like?”
© Lori Allen/NBCFor Arienne, she has worked closet with Jason across season 13, an opportunity she calls “a treat” and “effortless”.
“We just fit really fast, really early on; we had a similar sense of humor and we got each other in a way that maybe I don’t think anyone expected,” she says. “It could have gone either way, but it was really fun. I think we grew together and, and it made us super close.”
She is excited to now explore the opportunities that Imani is presented with, as the rest of the Intelligence Unit is now in the know. The actress has been friends with Benjamin Levy Aguilar (who plays Dante Torres) for years, and that connection helped make her addition to the show a “seamless placement”.
© Lori Allen/NBC“Being with all of them feels so comfortable, and they were all so welcoming. It feels like I’ve been there for longer than I have, and it doesn’t always happen that way, so I feel very lucky,” she says.
“I would happily explore relationships everywhere. I have my personal relationship with Benjamin outside of work that we’ve been so lucky to get to explore on screen as friends, and that’s been so much fun, but I welcome anything that is next. I think the opportunities and possibilities are endless.”
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