Jesse Spencer’s Departure and Return from Chicago Fire Explained: Why He Left and What Brought Him Back
From the start, Jesse Spencer has always been a staple in the One Chicago fandom thanks to his starring role as the mild-mannered 51-year-old turned team captain Matt Casey. During the show’s first ten seasons, Casey was a key figure in Chicago Fire and was often at the forefront of some of the show’s biggest storylines.
It’s fair to say that Chicago Fire might never have evolved into the show it is today without Spencer and his characters as he and Taylor Kinney have been the faces of the series for years and their characters are the biggest draw for the millions of fans who tune in every week.
Casey was a huge part of the show and fans were shocked when he announced his departure during season 10. Luckily, he couldn’t stay away from the show, which led to a rather unique journey for his character and his fans. While many actors have left the show, never to return after leaving, Casey’s storyline has only continued to develop after his absence, with several major milestones occurring after Spencer left the show as a series regular.
Why Did Jesse Spencer Leave Chicago Fire?
Let’s start at the beginning by exploring Jesse Spencer’s departure from the show. In the series, Casey left 51 to move to Oregon to take care of the sons of 51’s former co-worker and friend, Andrew Darden, becoming their legal guardian. This exit storyline opened the door for Casey to return to the show, which he has done multiple times since Spencer left.
Spencer’s final official appearance as a regular cast member was in Chicago Fire’s 200th episode, “Two Hundred,” in which Casey decides to leave Chicago to care for the Darden boys after learning that the siblings are at risk of being separated through the foster care system. The episode explicitly explains Casey’s departure, but the reason the storyline was introduced was because Spencer wanted to leave the series after 10 years on the show.
As he told People after his departure, “It was a difficult decision because I loved the show from the beginning, but there are other things I want to do in the future and there are some families I need to take care of. I’ve marked these milestones and looked forward to the future… and it’s time.”
Luckily, Spencer left on good terms, and while “Two Hundred” may have been his last episode as a regular cast member of the series, he has returned several times since leaving the show at the start of season 10. Down on Casey Returning to Chicago Fire Jesse Spencer has returned for four episodes since leaving Chicago Fire so far, returning in the season 10 finale, two in season 11, and one in season 12. It’s unclear whether we’ll see Spencer return in the upcoming season of the show, but the door is still open, so we can’t rule out the possibility that he’ll leave.
Spencer first returned in the season 10 finale, “The Magnificent City of Chicago,” where his character returned to attend Severide and Kidd’s wedding. Many fans hoped that this return would happen because Casey felt bad about not being at her longtime friend’s wedding, and thankfully, Spencer agreed to return for the episode where Casey returned to town to attend the lantern parade and enjoyed a bittersweet reunion with Brett, in which the couple seemed to come to an agreement that the long-distance relationship wasn’t working out as they had hoped.
Spencer returned again in season 11, episode 18, “Danger Is All Around”, back working with Kidd on a task force investigation and we discovered that he was still obsessed with Brett, hinting at a possible reconciliation between the pair.
That reconciliation came in the season 11 finale, “Red Waterfall”, when Casey returned to Chicago once again with the intention of declaring his love for Brett by getting down on one knee and proposing to her. This moment seemed to hint that he might return in season 12, and he did — although Spencer’s return came a little later than fans expected.
While we learned Brett said yes to his proposal in the season 12 premiere, Casey didn’t return until the very end of the season. Spencer returned to Chicago Fire one last time in season 12, episode 6, “Port in the Storm,” which served as Kara Killmer’s final episode for Brett. The show tied Brett’s departure storyline into a happy ending for her and Casey as their wedding day arrived and, with it, Spencer’s return as Casey. In the episode, we saw Casey and Brett exchange their “I dos” before the couple left Chicago together to return to Oregon to be with their families.
Because Casey and Brettin future seasons but there are currently no rumors of a possible return. However, the show has surprised us before and we have yet to have a season without Spencer appearing in at least one episode so maybe we will see him return in season 13 for a guest appearance or two!
