How Chicago P.D. Pulled Off That Incredible Season 9 Bridge Scene
"Chicago P.D." has proven to be an exceptionally successful police procedural, especially considering that it's one of three shows under the "One Chicago" franchise umbrella. Currently in its ninth season, "Chicago P.D." is still, for all intents and purposes, following its case-of-the-week formula. On Wednesday night, the show returned to NBC following a brief hiatus. Previously, "Chicago P.D." fans watched as Voight (Jason Beghe) and Co. investigated a murder where an icepick is the tool responsible for the deathly final blow in the episode "To Protect." As the investigation continues, Voight and Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) work with informant Anna Avalos (Carmela Zumbado) to find out who is responsible. Now, on Wednesday's episode title "Still Water," the focus shift from Voight and Halstead and puts Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) front and center.
With "Chicago P.D" primarily focused on the Intelligence Unit of the 21st District, the show has never been short on big action stunt pieces in the form of shoot-outs, car chases, and general fight scenes. These are usually elaborate and well-crafted stunts, especially for a more tame network audience. However, it looks like "Still Water" has pulled off perhaps one of the biggest stunts in the show's history based on the preview we got ahead of the episode.
Chicago P.D. utilized practical effects and careful planning to pull off the bridge stunt
Ahead of the debut of "Still Water," which served as the mid-season premiere for "Chicago P.D." Season 9, the official Wolf Entertainment YouTube page uploaded a behind-the-scenes video detailing exactly how the incredible bridge scene was performed. The scene involved a car crashing into the Chicago River and Detective Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) diving into the ice-cold water to save the passengers in the car. According to the video, most of what was shown in tonight's episode was pulled off with practical effects using cranes and a launch pad.
As for the portion of the stunt where Spiridakos' Upton takes a polar plunge, the "Chicago P.D." team utilized a stunt double in stuntwoman Kelli Scarangello. They only had one chance to do this properly. For the underwater sequences involving Upton rescuing people from the car, the crew built a tank for Spiridakos and Scarangello to safely swim in. Spiridakos herself revealed that she has an Open Water Diver certificate and that she's been trained in how to open her eyes and breathe properly underwater.
The stunt itself is absolutely breathtaking (no pun intended) and, given her training and the help from a capable stunt double in Scarangello, it seems like it was the perfect one for Spiridakos and her character.