Chicago P.D. was the only one of the three to enter the fall with a full roster. Chicago Fire‘s Firehoruse 51 has lived under the threat of cuts to the Chicago Fire Department for months, so the release of some characters isn’t unexpected. Budget cuts will also affect Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, the Med of Chicago Med, so characters being released from that series isn’t unrealistic either. The Intelligence Unit of Chicago P.D. hasn’t had that same budgetary concern, and no one seemed to be on the radar to leave. The only one whose absence in the new season may have made sense is Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar), but Reid’s death and subsequent reveal of corruption cut short his jail time. This makes the recent announcement that Toya Turner, who plays Officer Kiana Cook, is not returning for Season 13 of Chicago P.D. especially surprising, and puts the NBC crime series at a big disadvantage.

Officer Kiana Cook’s ‘Chicago P.D.’ Exit Wasn’t Teased

But there isn’t a contingency plan in place for Chicago P.D.‘s host of characters. No budget cuts, no whiffs of something developing personally or professionally that would explain an absence, no season finale cliffhanger that leaves the fate of a member of the Intelligence Unit hanging over the summer break. In fact, Cook’s backstory was really only beginning to be explored, and her partnership with Burgess (Marina Squerciati) was heading into something deeper, with Squerciati explaining, “I really love Toya [Turner], and she’s a fresh voice on the show. I also feel like [Kim is] a bit of a mentor to Cook, and I’d love to see that grow as well.”

Officer Kiana Cook’s ‘Chicago P.D.’ Exit Comes at the Worst Possible Time

But actors leave shows for a myriad of reasons. While Turner hasn’t disclosed her reasoning for leaving (her statement simply says, “I’m grateful for the time I had bringing Kiana to life. Thank you to everyone who welcomed me so warmly”), it doesn’t change the fact that she’s out (Turner’s not even the first to exit Chicago P.D. under mysterious circumstances). What’s unfortunate is the timing of her exit.

Season 12 of Chicago P.D. was a rollercoaster, to put it mildly. Torres experienced an uncharacteristic downfall. Voight was on the losing end for the larger part of the season, only coming out the other side by giving up on his half-hearted attempt at doing things “by the book” and going back to his old and morally decrepit ways, placing him in the crosshairs of Nina Chapman (Sara Bues). Burgess and Ruzek (Patrick Flueger) just got married, one of a handful of happy moments.

Ultimately, Cook’s exit from the show feeds into an issue that plagues the franchise, where newer characters rotate in and out of the series with regularity. It makes it hard for viewers to engage with new characters, having been trained to believe that there’s little point since they’ll be shipped out anyway. Cook could have been a character that bucked the trend. Instead, she’s just another character no one got to know.