Well, this ought to clear up any questions about Sam Carver’s furlough.
Chicago Fire has (finally) promoted Jake Lockett, who plays the aforementioned firefighter, to series regular for Season 13, sources confirm to TVLine exclusively.
Lockett has recurred on the NBC drama for the past two seasons, making his debut in the Season 11 premiere and appearing in 33 episodes. His character came into the firehouse as a potential recruit for Truck 81, but he got off to shaky start with Lieutenant Stella Kidd, who described Carver as being “arrogant” during their shared fire academy days. Eventually, the two reached a place of co-respect, with Carver opening up to Stella about how his troubled family history led to his burn scars, and he then became a permanent fixture on Truck.
In Season 12, Carver began a romantic relationship with paramedic Violet, which started off as a casual thing, but in the finale, he confessed that he’s in love with her. Violet, however, assumed that he has feelings for Stella, and when she realized how badly she had messed up with Carver and went to talk to him, she discovered that he’d taken a furlough from work.
Lockett isn’t the only Fire cast member getting a promotion in Season 13: As previously reported, Jocelyn Hudon, who came on board last season as paramedic Lyla Novak, has also been upped to series regular.
Meanwhile, Dermot Mulroney is joining the ensemble in the series-regular of the new chief, Dom Pascal, who replaces Chief Wallace Boden at Firehouse 51. KaDee Strickland (Private Practice) will recur as Dom’s estranged wife, Monica.