Chicago P.D. Showrunner Would Love To See Lisseth Chavez Return
A tough but fair cop, Officer Vanessa Rojas (Lisseth Chavez) first appears early in Season 7 of NBC's long-running "Chicago P.D." Rojas lived in foster care for years, and then on the streets, so she naturally thrives as an undercover officer. Eventually, her clandestine work results in an encounter with the Intelligence unit. Rojas finds that she's a good fit for the specialized team, and she even bonds with Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos), becoming her roommate.
Rojas appears in 19 "Chicago P.D." episodes and in the One Chicago three-part crossover episode, "Infection." However, Chavez left the series after the end of Season 7, with the actress soon after joining the cast of the CW's "Legends of Tomorrow" (via Deadline). Despite the character's friendships with Upton and Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins), the show doesn't explain why Rojas departs.
Still, in an interview, the "Chicago P.D." showrunner addressed the possibility of Rojas returning to the series.
The Chicago P.D. showrunner seemed open to Rojas' return
Season 10 of "Chicago P.D." introduced a new regular cast member in Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar). The arrival of Torres and departure of Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) prompted Cinema Blend to ask showrunner Gwen Sigan whether former regular Lisseth Chavez could return to the series.
Sigan's words on the matter were optimistic: "I would say the door's always open. I loved her. Lisseth was great. I think that I'll never say no to anything. Who knows?"
It certainly doesn't sound as if Chavez's departure from "Chicago P.D." was contentious. According to Deadline, the writers simply chose to wrap up her storyline, and Chavez found work else elsewhere. Since exiting "Chicago P.D.," she has not only appeared on "Legends of Tomorrow" as the character Esperanza "Spooner" Cruz but she's co-starred on "The Rookie" as Celina, the new trainee of John Nolan (Nathan Fillion). As a result, "Chicago P.D." fans will just have to wait and see if Rojas will return or if Chavez's other projects will take precedence.