“Chicago P.D.” Will Be ‘Exploring the Connection’ Between Eva Imani and Dante Torres This Season (Exclusive)

Breanne L. HeldmanSun, October 11, 2026 at 1:45 PM UTC

0

Arienne Mandi and Benjamin Levy Aguilar on ‘Chicago P.D.’Credit: Lori Allen/NBCThe actors, Arienne Mandi and Benjamin Levy Aguilar, have been friends for years -

Showrunner Gwen Sigan says Imani and Torres communicate directly despite being opposites

Arienne Mandi and Benjamin Levy Aguilar became friends after meeting in a 2020 jiu-jitsu class

Season 14 explores change as Imani faces fallout from turning in her long-lost sister

If fans noticed the slightest hint of a spark between Eva Imani (Arienne Mandi) and Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) in the season 14 premiere of Chicago P.D., that was no accident.

The characters have shared an unspoken kinship since Imani joined the Intelligence Unit at the beginning of season 13. And the new season will dive a bit deeper into it.

“We’re definitely interested in strengthening that friendship this year and sort of exploring it and exploring the connection that they have,” showrunner and executive producer Gwen Sigan tells PEOPLE. “They have this very natural connection as characters.”

“It’s interesting because they’re such opposites in a lot of ways, but they both have this very independent streak to them,” Sigan continues. “ I think it allows them to speak to each other very directly and have this form of communication that is unique to the pair of them. They just naturally have this kinship where it’s like they know where the other person is, are aware of them and have their back.”

Benjamin Levy Aguilar and Arienne Mandi in season 13 of ‘Chicago P.D.’Credit: Lori Allen/NBC

Some of that chemistry may stem from Mandi and Aguilar’s shared history. The two actors first met in a jiu-jitsu class in 2020, before either was cast on Chicago P.D..

“I’d been there a few times prior to him joining, and he joined, and he was late,” Mandi said in a giggle-filled Instagram video posted in November 2025. “He was late every single time. Then we became training partners, and we both realized that we were both actors, and we loved working out. So, we joined basically every gym in Los Angeles. And, yeah, just became the best of friends.”

“The first time we did a scene together, we couldn’t lock eyes because it was, like, chaos,” Aguilar added. “It’s been the best.”

Benjamin Levy Aguilar, Arienne Mandi and LaRoyce Hawkins in season 13 of ‘Chicago P.D.’Credit: Lori Allen/NBC

Sigan notes that their on-screen connection was evident early in the premiere.

Advertisement

“You see it at the start of this episode, and it’s definitely something that we explore through the season,” she adds. “For Imani, too, it becomes this really important friendship in her life and this person when she’s feeling very alone right now.”

Of course, she’s not completely alone. Season 13 ended with Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) leaving Imani’s long-lost sister Shari’s fate in her hands, after they realized she likely committed at least one murder. In the season 14 premiere, it’s clear Imani opted to turn her sibling in.

Jason Beghe and Arienne Mandi in season 13 of ‘Chicago P.D.’Credit: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC

“We wanted this idea of Voight giving her the chance to make the choice herself, which is not something that he always does,” Sigan says. “I think he’s learned, and it’s a little insight into seeing that this man has changed over the years and has learned over the years.”

That plays into what Sigan also says are the themes of the season, “reinvention, transition and change.”

“We really wanted to lean in and be truthful about where all these characters are at in life, and they’re all facing these changes that are coming up and these new chapters. And so we’re leaning in. We’re leaning into all of the changes that we’ve got coming.”

— sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”