Alvin Olinsky will not return for Chicago PD Season 11

CHICAGO P.D. -- "Breaking Point" Episode 517 -- Pictured: Elias Koteas as Alvin Olinsky -- (Photo by: Matt Dinerstein/NBC)
CHICAGO P.D. -- "Breaking Point" Episode 517 -- Pictured: Elias Koteas as Alvin Olinsky -- (Photo by: Matt Dinerstein/NBC)

We would love to see Alvin Olinksy back with Intelligence in Chicago PD Season 11, but sadly that simply can’t happen. Don’t expect to see Elias Kotease back.

There are some characters we would love to see return to the series. Alvin Olinksy is one of them. There’s no doubt that we’re still salty about the way the writers handled the character’s exit.

As much as we would love to see Kotease back in the series, that’s not going to happen. Olinksy was killed off in the series, and this is a show that’s steeped in reality. So, it’s not like we can get something like Supernatural where the characters come back to life.

Could Chicago PD Season 11 bring us flashbacks or visions?

Of course, there are a couple of ways to bring dead characters back in shows that are set in the real world. One of those is through flashbacks. That has been done before, but it’s highly unlikely that we’ll get it here. The writers prefer to move forward with storylines instead of looking back.

Another option would be to bring Olinksy back through visions. This can be done for multiple reasons in a reality-based series. For example, Grey’s Anatomy brought back Ghost Denny when Izzy had a brain tumor, while Outlander brought back a vision of Frank Randall as Bree went back to the past and got ready to set sail to America to find Claire and Jamie.

Chicago PD Season 11 is unlikely to do either of those things. The only character it would make sense for would be Voight. But again, the show tends to focus on moving forward with storylines instead of looking back.

The closest the show has gotten to bringing Olinksy back is by having Voight and Ruzek at his graveside in Season 10. It was a reminder that the characters remember him, and in reality, that’s all we need.

Chicago PD Season 11 premieres on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 10/9c on NBC. Catch up on the series on Peacock.