Chicago Fire is one of the most successful shows on NBC and it led to the inception of the Chicago franchise on the network.
A bunch of the show’s series regular actors from the past 12 years have already left the show and we’re recapping all the departed stars, from first to most recent. We’re also explaining the decision behind each exit, including whether it was a creative decision or because an actor wanted to leave.
Chicago Fire looks into the professional and personal lives of the firefighters and paramedics of Firehouse 51 as they risk their lives every day to save and protect the citizens of Chicago.
Teri Reeves
Character: Dr. Hallie Thomas
Seasons on Show: 1
It has been said that the decision to kill off Hallie at the end of season one was a creative decision to shake things up on the show.
Teri has gone on to appear in shows like Once Upon a Time and Lucifer.
Lauren German
Character: Leslie Elizabeth Shay
Seasons on Show: 1-2, Guest Star for 3
Leslie was killed off in the season two finale.
Showrunner Matt Olmstead told TVLine, “As storytellers, you have to be unsentimental. “Sometimes, you have to do that to bring more storylines into a show, and that’s what we decided to do.”
Charlie Barnett
Character: Peter Mills
Seasons on Show: 1-3
Charlie was let go from the show as a creative decision and it wasn’t his choice.
“[The show] was a behemoth that I never really saw coming,” he later told People. “I was thankful to be a part of it. I really was sad to be let go. It broke me for quite a long time.” Ultimately, though, he said the experience was “a blessing in disguise, and they all told me that.”
Dora Madison
Character: Jessica “Chili” Chilton
Seasons on Show: Recurring for 3, Main for 4
It was a creative decision to write Chili off the show.
Showrunner Matt Olmstead told THR, “It’s hard. We liked the actress a lot and she did a great job.”
Steven R. McQueen
Character: Jimmy Borelli
Seasons on Show: 4-5
It was a creative decision to have Jimmy leave the show.
“I think Steven has an incredibly bright future and deserves to be a bigger part on a show than probably we can give him,” co-creator Michael Brandt told EW. “We were, as writers, finding it hard to feed all the mouths that we have on the show. … We wanted to get a little leaner and meaner in terms of our storytelling and what characters we were focusing on. So Jimmy leaving was a byproduct of that.”
Monica Raymund
Character: Gabriela Dawson
Seasons on Show: 1-6, Guest Star for 7-8
Monica Raymund made the decision to leave the show.
“I’m not sure the exact moment when it happened, but I knew that my six-year contract was coming to an end and I felt like I was hungry to explore a different role, a different story,” she told the Chicago Tribune. “I wanted to explore a different world. I had been in Chicago for five years and just personally where I was in my life, I was ready to create my home and kind of plant some roots in Los Angeles.”
Yuri Sardarov
Character: Brian “Otis” Zvonecek
Seasons on Show: Recurring for 1, Main for 2-7, Guest for 8
It was a creative decision to kill off Otis.
“I’ve known Yuriy since he was a junior in college in Michigan,” showrunner Derek Haas told People. “We did a movie together before Chicago Fire and it’s been awesome watching him develop into the actor that he is… It was tough making that call [to kill off Otis], but I knew it was right for the show. I tried to make it not meaningless.”
Annie Ilonzeh
Character: Emily Foster
Seasons on Show: 7-8
It’s unclear why Annie Ilonzeh decided to leave the show. Her character Emily Foster left the firehouse to go back to medical school.
Adriyan Rae
Character: Gianna Mackey
Seasons on Show: 9
Adriyan Rae left the show for personal reasons.
“All I can say is we love her, and I know she’s going to be great on some other series,” showrunner Derek Haas told Entertainment Weekly. “She left 51 on great terms, so there’s a chance we could check in on her. We’re always looking for something to boost up a crossover! I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Mackey in Firehouse 51.”
Jesse Spencer
Character: Matthew Casey
Seasons on Show: 1-10
Jesse Spencer said, “This was a difficult decision because I have loved the show from the start but there are other things that I would like to do in the future, and there’s some family that I need to take care of. I was marking off these milestones and looking to the future … and it was time.”
He has returned for a couple guest appearances in the years since his exit.
Alberto Rosende
Character: Blake Gallo
Seasons on Show: 8-12
Alberto was the one who decided to leave the show.
“When I decided to end my time with Chicago, it wasn’t easy,” he wrote on Instagram. “The people I’ve met were truly special, the friendships I’ve made will last a lifetime, and the story I got to tell was one that made me proud.”
Kara Killmer
Character: Sylvie Brett
Seasons on Show: 3-12
Sylvie said goodbye in a February 2024 episode when she married Matt Casey and moved to Oregon with him.
Kara told People, “The writing’s been on the wall for a long time. Sylvie and Matt, their saga, that relationship had been building up for three years, and then Jesse exited the show [in 2021]. … She and Matt becoming a family is for sure the most natural, inevitable conclusion for the arc of her.”
Eamonn Walker
Character: Wallace Boden
Seasons on Show: 1-12
There have been reports that many shows are cutting lead actors as they’re too expensive to keep. It’s unclear if this is what led to Eamonn’s departure, but he’s confirmed to appear in future episodes in a guest status.
Executive producer Andrea Newman has teased why Boden will be saying goodbye.
“Boden has been managing a lot of change at home (with his stepson James) and at 51, and learned a lot while doing it, including about himself,” Newman tells TV Insider. “A shocking incident in the finale will highlight what it means to him to be a leader, and everyone close to him will be impacted in a huge way by the decision he makes.”
