Chicago P.D. fans can finally breathe again. After weeks of buzz about Patrick John Flueger’s sudden disappearance from the hit NBC show, the actor has come back on set, ending all the rumors. Viewers noticed his character, Adam Ruzek, missing from a handful of episodes, which only amped up the chatter. Flueger, who’s been a pillar of the Intelligence Unit, took a break earlier this fall for personal reasons.
Patrick John Flueger returns to Chicago PD’s set after missing several episodes
Flueger’s sudden break was first noticed in October 2025, when Deadline reported, citing sources, that he’d stepped back from filming to deal with a personal situation. Since then, Ruzek has been missing from the show, with his last appearance airing on October 29. Because Chicago P.D. didn’t give any in-universe excuse for his absence, fans started asking what went down and why one of the show’s anchors had vanished without a trace.
However, fans breathed a sigh of relief on December 11 when co-star Marina Squerciati shared a birthday post for Flueger on Instagram. The post featured a cute on-set snap with him, along with LaRoyce Hawkins and Benjamin Levy Aguilar, showing that Ruzek is officially back in action with the Intelligence unit. It was the first real proof that Flueger had returned to the set after his weeks-long hiatus, putting rumors to rest.
Just a couple of weeks before, Squerciati shared another candid snap from the Lyric Opera on Instagram, showing Flueger hanging out with friends and co-stars. Fans saw it as another hopeful sign that he was slowly getting back into the swing of things.
Now that filming has resumed, fans can look forward to Adam Ruzek coming back on-screen sometime after the January 7 episode. However, the exact timing will hinge on production schedules.
Originally reported by Rishabh Shandilya on ComingSoon.
