Chicago P.D. wrapped the first half of Season 10 with the Intelligence Unit finally getting what they needed to put Sean O’Neal (played by Yellowstone’s Jefferson White) behind bars and save the girls who he’d captured. Although Sean was shot in the head by the end of the winter finale, he survived his injuries, and showrunner Gwen Sigan confirmed that he’d be back because his story still isn’t totally done. Sigan also opened up about how the actor inspired some of what has made Sean so scary in Season 10.
Fans of Yellowstone who also tune into Chicago P.D. can vouch for Jefferson White’s versatility, as playing Jimmy on the Paramount show definitely hasn’t included any cult-like vibes like what White brings to NBC’s hit cop drama, and the same will presumably be true when Jimmy moves over to Yellowstone’s 6666 spinoff. When CinemaBlend spoke with P.D. boss Gwen Sigan, she shared how the actor shaped Sean O’Neal, saying:
With Jefferson's role, we knew Sean was going to be the villain of the first half of the season, so we knew he was going to be in quite a lot. We knew his relationship with Upton was going to be the crux of the story. But every time we got an episode turned in, and we would see what Jefferson did with it, it just inspired different elements. He became this character. I feel like Jefferson infused this cult leader [persona]. There's something so fascinating about how he played it, and so we certainly started to write into it quite a lot.
The Sean O’Neal character on paper was originally different before Jefferson White brought his own nuances as an actor. He certainly found a balance between portraying a chilling villain and convincing pretty much everybody other than Upton that he was just a stand-up guy with a slightly problematic past who wanted to lead kids back to the straight and narrow in Chicago.
With the exception of Upton, everybody seemed to believe early on that his problematic past didn’t go any further than substance abuse. That certainly wasn’t the case after she brought the rest of the unit into the investigation, and she and Burgess found evidence that ultimately broke the case wide open. Sean didn’t make it easy on Upton (who was already having a difficult season due to Halstead’s departure). Gwen Sigan went on to elaborate on what Jefferson White brought as Sean:
This idea that he could see through Upton and he believed he could see through people and that he could determine whether they were saveable or not saveable. He gave that. The actor brought that in, and he's very, very good with ad libs and very instinctual so there were always surprises that we would find, and then we'd use them and write to them.
It should be interesting to see how different (or not different) Sean is when Jefferson White returns to Chicago P.D. in 2023. After all, he was shot in the head and would have almost certainly died if Upton had taken any longer to finally render aid, and that’s presumably something that he can’t just shake off after just a couple of months over winter break. It’s possible that the death of his father could pack quite a punch as well; after all, Chief O’Neal shot himself after shooting Sean.
Then again, Sean hasn’t exactly shown much in the way of a conscience, and fans can only wait and see what Jefferson White brings to One Chicago in the new year. If you want to revisit his first appearances, you can do so streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription. (Yellowstone is also available on Peacock with Jefferson White’s Jimmy.)
New episodes of Chicago P.D. will continue to air on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. The showrunner previously weighed in on whether viewers could see more of the Upton/Burgess dynamic, although the first episode of 2023 focused on Torres and the line that he had to cross alongside Ruzek. Be sure to keep tuning in for what’s next, including the episode that former star Jesse Lee Soffer returns to P.D. to direct.
