Showrunner Andrea Newman confirms that not long after coming back to Firehouse 51, Kelly Severide will go missing in Chicago Fire season 12. Firehouse 51 is still trying to move on from losing Kara Killmer’s Sylvie Brett when she married Matt Casey in season 12, episode 6. While One Chicago is used to cast reshuffles, Chief Boden’s team is particularly struggling because, before the PIC’s departure, the show already said goodbye to Blake Gallo. Moving forward, season 12 will have to function without another core character in Taylor Kinney’s character.
Per TVLine, Newman reveals that an upcoming season 12 episode will feature a story where Severide goes missing. This is after Kinney’s absence throughout the majority of season 11 and again, for a period in the current year. The predicament leaves Stella Kidd on a mission to find her husband. Check out the full details below:
Showrunner Andrea Newman described this season’s 11th episode as a “self-contained thriller” that “starts with a shock — Kidd walks out to the apparatus floor in the middle of the night to see one of the rigs is missing, and Severide’s phone sits alone on the squad table. No one else is in sight. What the hell is going on?” One thing is for sure as this mystery unfolds, says Newman: “Stella Kidd is a warrior on a mission to find out” what happened.
Chicago Fire Needs To Decide On What To Do With Severide
Severide’s OFI Obsession Interferes With His Role In Firehouse 51.
Due to the six-month time jump, Severide was already back at Firehouse 51 for quite a while when season 12 premiered following his absence in the previous season. This means that his reunion with Kidd wasn’t shown on screen. Severide’s obsession with being a fire cop has been plaguing his marriage for a while now, with his wife realizing how engrossed he could be with arson cases. This shouldn’t be a problem, especially since he clearly has a knack for it. However, having repeatedly prioritized them raises questions about his future at Firehouse 51, especially since Chicago Fire was renewed for season 13.
One Chicago has seen all kinds of cast departures over the years. Exits range from straightforward ones where an actor decides to move on to more controversial farewells. Kinney’s situation, however, is particularly interesting because there is no indication that he is planning to leave Chicago Fire, yet Severide’s story seems to set him up to leave. Despite creating conflict between him and Kidd, it doesn’t appear he is planning on scaling back his involvement with OFI. Becoming a full-time fire cop could be his eventual exit plan, which shouldn’t be surprising, considering his commitment to it.
Ultimately, only time will tell if Kinney will leave Chicago Fire. At this point, it’s very risky to lose him, considering all the exits that One Chicago has experienced in the last couple of years. In the meantime, however, the show needs to decide what they want to do with his character because holding onto Severide is just ruining him.
