Jesse Lee Soffer is staying in the procedural world – and reuniting with one of the architects of Chicago P.D. to do it. CBS has opened a development room for Strike Force, a new law enforcement drama written and executive produced by Matt Olmstead, with Soffer attached to star and executive produce.
Jerry Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed will also EP through Jerry Bruckheimer Television, with CBS Studios producing.
The project is being developed for a potential 2027-2028 broadcast season launch.
According to the official logline, Soffer would play “a battle-tested DEA agent” who returns home to Kansas City to lead a multi-agency strike force targeting violent criminals attempting to exploit America’s heartland.
ALSO READ:
Jesse Lee Soffer returns to ‘Chicago P.D.’ as LaRoyce Hawkins preps exit
For Chicago audiences, the creative pairing is a familiar one. Soffer spent 10 seasons playing Senior Detective Jay Halstead on Chicago P.D., while Olmstead co-created the series with Dick Wolf and served as showrunner for four seasons.
Their history extends beyond P.D. as well.
The two later reunited on FBI: International, where Soffer joined the fourth and final season and Olmstead served as writer and executive producer.
Soffer’s One Chicago footprint also includes appearances on Chicago Fire and Chicago Med, along with a crossover episode of Law & Order: SVU. His earlier television work includes As the World Turns and Hatfields & McCoys.
Olmstead, meanwhile, has one of the deepest résumés in the Wolf Entertainment universe.
In addition to co-creating Chicago P.D., Chicago Med and the short-lived Chicago Justice, he also co-created Law & Order: Organized Crime. His other credits include NYPD Blue, Prison Break, Breakout Kings and Stumptown.
The addition of Jerry Bruckheimer Television gives Strike Force another heavyweight procedural pedigree. Bruckheimer’s television banner has long been associated with crime and law enforcement franchises, making the project a natural fit for CBS.
For Soffer, the series would mark another step in a post-Chicago P.D. career that has kept him closely connected to the kind of character-driven procedural storytelling that made Halstead a fan favorite.
And if Strike Force moves forward, it would also put a little One Chicago DNA into CBS’ next generation of crime dramas.
