Officer Eva Imani (Arienne Mandi) was dealt a crushing blow at the end of last season when she reunited with her sister, Shari (Selin Cuhadaroglu), who’d been taken as a young girl by a sex trafficker. It left Sgt. Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) with a tough decision: Does he turn Shari in for a murder she committed?
Chicago P.D.‘s Season 14 premiere, set three months later, reveals whether he does and explores “new territory” for the sisters, promises Mandi in the video interview above. Despite Shari’s willingness to kill her sister, Imani won’t give up on a relationship.
“It’s in her nature to be hopeful,” she explains. “I think that she will always strive for [a relationship], even if she doesn’t know what’s best for her. With all the years that have passed, that’s her goal no matter what. Her goal is to create something out of nothing. Her goal is to make her sister remember. She’s not going to give up after all these years that she’s been searching for it. No matter what happens, she’s always going to try to create something there between her and her sister.”
Elizabeth Sisson/NBC
When it comes to leaning on one of her teammates, Mandi calls Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) “a silent person there with her along on this whole journey. He was always present. Voight was kind of like, ‘Stay with her, stay on her, make sure she’s OK,’” she points out. “Torres was the one that dropped off Shari when we had to go drop her off together at the safe house. So I think Torres is very much silently alongside Imani in this whole journey, like a comfort of sorts, but not really established out in the open, if you will.”
Intelligence also investigates a parole officer’s shooting in the premiere, and Voight is forced to let an outsider into the office. Says Mandi: “It’s going to be a hurdle.”
Looking ahead, newcomers join the fold as the unit says goodbye to one of its own this fall. Original series star LaRoyce Hawkins, who plays Officer Kevin Atwater, is leaving. “He’s so loved and has left such a legacy,” Mandi raves.
Watch the full video interview above for more from Arienne Mandi about Season 14.
Chicago P.D., Season 14 Premiere, Wednesday, October 7, 10/9c, NBC