Chicago’s Firehouse 51 hasn’t been the same since Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) abruptly left town. Kinney, who had led the “Chicago Fire” cast since Jesse Spencer (Matthew Casey) departed in Season 10, took a leave of absence from the NBC series halfway through Season 11, citing personal reasons. His last appearance on screen took place in the episode “Run Like Hell,” which aired on February 22, 2023. In the episode, Severide and Randall McHolland (Christian Stolte) help Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) with an arson investigation. Kinney’s departure appears to have been unplanned. There’s nothing in “Run Like Hell” that foreshadows his intention to leave the series, and an explanation doesn’t come until the following episode, “Damage Control.”
It’s in this episode — which aired on March 1, 2023 — that we get an in-story explanation for Severide’s absence: Tom Van Meter (Tim Hopper) explains to Chief Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker) that Severide left the city to train at “the best arson investigation training program in the world” and that he couldn’t tell Boden himself because he left Chicago so last minute. Since Severide’s departure, Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) has taken over as lieutenant of Squad 3. Although he wasn’t seen on screen, Kinney continued to be credited in the series throughout the remainder of Season 11, which came to an end on May 24, 2023.
Kelly Severide will be back for Season 12
“Chicago Fire” fans can rest easy knowing that Kelly Severide will return to Rescue Squad 3 when Season 12 premieres on January 17, 2024. At the end of October 2023, Deadline reported that Taylor Kinney is set to rejoin the cast and that the first round of Season 12 scripts will feature his character. It’s unclear if Kinney’s reinstatement is expected to be permanent at the time of this writing, but Deadline sources say that the actor is believed to be rejoining the cast full-time.
There’s still no information regarding what led to Kinney’s departure from the show, and the actor spent most of his time away from the series laying low. Kinney hasn’t updated his social media at all in 2023, but on August 21, his girlfriend, Ashley Cruger, posted a photo on Instagram of the couple out with some friends. A few months prior, Kinney paid tribute to his “Chicago Fire” co-star Treat Williams following the actor’s death in a motorcycle accident. Williams played Kelly’s father, Benny Severide. “My thoughts and prayers are with Treat’s family,” Kinney told People. “I’ll always relish our conversations and his uncanny ability to light up a room. We all send love, he will be missed.”
