Why Chicago Fire Fans Have No Love For Hank Voight

Hank Voight may have captured "Chicago P.D." viewers' hearts, but not everyone following the "One Chicago" universe more broadly is a fan. In fact, some have pointed out that they've never quite gotten over the not-so-wholesome way Jason Beghe's character was introduced to them in the first place (and TBH, we get it). 

"Chicago Fire" was the first show in the "One Chicago" universe, and OG fans will no doubt remember that early on, Voight was characterized as a "dirty cop." That may have been forgiven if not for the fact that he used his position to terrorize beloved "Chicago Fire" character Matt Casey (played by Jesse Spencer, who has been up to a lot since leaving "Chicago Fire"). For those who only started watching the franchise when "Chicago P.D." began, the gist of it was that, as a first responder, Casey had made a statement about a drunk driver whose actions had paralyzed someone else. The drunk driver happened to be Voight's son, and the policeman approached Casey to retract his statement. However, Casey refused, and Voight planted cocaine in his home to frame him in retaliation. 

Understandably, that didn't sit well with "Chicago Fire" viewers, though he was later given something of a redemption arc on "Chicago P.D." As one Redditor explained, "While they technically didn't erase the Casey storyline, they turned him into a 'Lives in the gray area for the greater good' cop hoping people would eventually forget about it." The same Redditor said that in a way, that had worked, but some viewers weren't quite as convinced. In fact, one noted, "When I realized that he was going to star in 'Chicago P.D.,' I legit thought it was going to be revealed that he was undercover pretending to be a dirty cop. I was disappointed." Well, at least they tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

While there's no question "Chicago P.D." is incredibly successful, it is worth noting that some fans have said they never got into the police-driven spinoff specifically because they could never get past the Hank Voight-Matt Casey drama. "His ignoble introduction on 'Chicago Fire' is probably why I have never been able to get into 'Chicago P.D.,'" wrote one on Reddit. Another quipped that they "Basically protested until Covid" to even begin watching the show. "I [didn't] watch PD for the longest time bc I was such a big fire fan and they made Hank out to be such a d***he," they wrote. On the other hand, some who watched "Chicago P.D." before they'd seen "Chicago Fire" said they'd always been able to sense something was up. One said they'd always felt off about Voight, revealing, "I watched 'Chicago Fire' years later and was like 'Yeah, thought so' lmao."

Of course, Voight's reputation certainly hasn't been deplorable enough to stop everyone from tuning in. Far from it, "Chicago P.D." has spent more than a decade on the air, and Voight has stuck around. In fact, even after scandal rocked Jason Beghe's reputation, his character remained on the show. Some fans have complained about that as well, but still, he's remained.

Among those who do love Voight, the consensus is that he's changed for the better. As one Redditor pointed out, "I hated him in 'Chicago Fire' Season 1 but he completely charmed me in 'Chicago P.D.' and now I love Hank." Another mused that Voight was, "Both a complex and simple character which is what makes him great. The show is nothing without him." Well, he's certainly continued to be a talking point after all these years.