Kim Burgess

Kimberly "Kim" Burgess is a fictional character from the American police procedural Chicago P.D., played by Marina Squerciati. She made her first appearance in the pilot episode "Stepping Stone", which was broadcast on NBC on January 8, 2014. Burgess was a patrol officer of the Chicago Police Department's 21st District. She also appears in a recurring role in Chicago Fire. As of Season 4, she is an officer with the Intelligence Unit.

Casting

On August 28, 2013, Nellie Andreeva from Deadline.com reported that actress Marina Squerciati had been cast in the regular role of Kim Burgess in Chicago Fire spin-off series Chicago P.D..^[1] Burgess was initially billed as "a feisty, sassy former flight attendant-turned-cop whose beauty belies a formidable inner strength."^[1] Following the conclusion of the first season, Squerciati was prepared to go back to her paralegal job, until NBC renewed Chicago P.D. for a second season.^[2]

Development

Squerciati liked her character's "energy and happiness" and said, "I'm hoping that she maintains some of that joy. I think part of it is because she's green, but another part of it is because she's a driven, joyful person. She knows what she wants."^[3] Squerciati liked that Burgess was not the perfect officer and made mistakes, as she found it very relatable.^[4]

Burgess wanted to be promoted to the Intelligence Unit, but her partner Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) was promoted over her instead.^[3] Squerciati was "taken aback" by the development and explained "when I read it, I went to executive producer Derek Haas and writer Michael Brandt and said, 'Are you kidding me? I didn't make Intelligence?' I kind of mixed up that I wasn't really Kim Burgess."^[3] The incident made Squerciati realise that she had become protective of her character and was upset for her.^[3] She also thought Burgess and Atwater's friendship would be tested by his promotion.^[3] Sgt. Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) later offered Burgess a promotion to Intelligence, but she turned it down. Squerciati commented that Burgess would question whether she had made a mistake and Squerciati hoped it was not a one-time offer.^[4]

Storylines

In her fictional backstory, Burgess was a flight attendant for three years before joining the CPD Academy.^[5] Burgess works as a patrol officer and may be a good candidate for Intelligence. She has a good partnership with former partner, Kevin Atwater. Both are constant targets of Desk Sergeant Trudy Platt's attitude. However, they are generally able to laugh it off after shift. Burgess has a good heart. When a woman is caught shoplifting bread to feed her son, Burgess pays for it and threatens the unyielding shopkeeper with fines for expired licenses. In a separate incident with a hoarder, Burgess discovers a kidnapped child hidden in the woman's basement.^[6] Kim and Officer Adam Ruzek have a close working friendship, frequently spending time bantering at work. Adam even helps her get revenge on Platt, who treats Burgess and Atwater horribly.^[7] After a particularly stressful call, Adam and Kim share a kiss. Kim regrets this almost instantly as Adam is engaged. However, after he breaks off his engagement, Kim and Adam begin a romantic relationship.^[8] In season 2, after Atwater was transferred to Intelligence, she is partnered with Officer Sean Roman.

At the end of "Called In Dead", while Roman and his former partner was arguing outside, Burgess is shot in the shoulder by a shotgun shell connected to a trip wire, which was set as a trap, that was connected to the doorbell.^[9] Upon investigation, in "Shouldn't Been Have Alone", it was learned that the house itself was booby trapped, and it was intended for police officers, by a murderer, Spencer York. She spent two weeks on administrative duty while nursing back to health. On her first shift back, she served as the district's desk sergeant while Platt rode with Roman.^[10] After her shooting, Sgt. Voight offers her a promotion to Intelligence, but she declines in order to remain a patrol officer.

In "What Do You Do", Burgess and Roman (while on a meal break) respond to a suspicious activity in a warehouse, which was to be a drug deal, without calling for backup. She manages to kill a suspect with a piece of glass shards from a window on the floor. They manage to get out of there when Ruzek called her and she never answered, causing Intelligence unit to go into the warehouse to catch the suspect about to drive away. Her partner, however, was seriously wounded during the ordeal. Kim makes it back to the precinct, complimented by Platt, and garnering a slow clap from a crowd of cops for saving her partner’s life and taking down the suspects.^[11]

In "There's My Girl", Burgess is promoted to Intelligence after Atwater is demoted following a suspect's suicide while in custody.^[12] In "Born Into Bad News", she accepts Ruzek's offer of marriage when she discovers he has placed an engagement ring in her locker.

At the end of "Looking Out for Stateville" Kim calls off the wedding to Ruzek, in the very same place he proposed. In doing so, Burgess then applies for a transfer to a new district in "Hit Me" which Platt is very shocked and upset to her, surprisingly. Both Burgess and Ruzek feel devastated but try to hide it. During "Hit Me", Kim is involved in a car crash, which results Ruzek rushing to her side, feeling uncomfortable, Burgess finds an excuse to leave.

After Kim breaks up with Ruzek she starts to have feeling for her partner, Roman. This creates some tension between Roman and Ruzek.

In "Justice" Burgess is investigated for shooting a hooded man who opened fire on their patrol car whilst Burgess and Roman were kissing, when the man has no gun in his hand. The gun is however later found in the water.

Roman asks Burgess to go with him To San Diego, however after realizing that this is what she wants to do, leaves for San Diego without Burgess.

In Season 4 "The Silos" Burgess meets her new partner, Julie Tay. In "A War Zone", Officer Tay is reassigned to her old job after her Commander Fogel goes over Platt's head, in revenge of what Platt did against Fogel. Then in "Some Friend", Sorensen becomes Burgess's partner before resigning in "A Shot Heard Around the World" due to the stress of a targeted shooting of a two police officers.

During the episode "A Shot Heard Around the World", Kim Burgess is offered a job in the Intelligence Unit which she takes.

Reception

Kate Stanhope from TV Guide observed, "You gotta hand it to Officer Kim Burgess of Chicago P.D. She has a real knack for sniffing out trouble. It's good for the residents of the Windy City, but bad for Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and, oftentimes, her partner Officer Sean Roman (Brian Geraghty)."^[13] During her review of season 2 episode "What Do You Do", Lisa Casas for ScreenSpy praised Squerciati's performance, saying she "holds her own in an episode that was good enough, but didn't quite deliver the grit that we expect from PD."^[14] The pairing of Burgess and Ruzek has become popular with viewers, who refer to the couple with the portmanteau "Burzek".^[3]

Appearances and crossovers

She often appears on Chicago Fire.

• Chicago Fire - "Tonight's The Night" (January 1, 2014)
• Chicago Fire - "A Dark Day (1)" (April 29, 2014)
• Chicago Fire - "Apologies Are Dangerous" (October 14, 2014)
• Chicago Fire - "Forgiving, Relentless, Unconditional" (March 17, 2015)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - "Daydream Believer" (April 29, 2015)

References