Fans couldn’t believe it when actor Charlie Barnett left Chicago Fire in 2015 after just three seasons of the hit NBC series. He has starred on the show since it premiered in 2012, playing rookie firefighter Peter Mills, whose firefighter father was killed in the line of duty. At the time, viewers questioned whether “Chicago Fire” could fill the void left by Barnett’s Mills.
“Chicago Fire” – part of the One Chicago series that also includes “Chicago Med” and “Chicago P.D.” all on the same night — accompanied by firefighters and paramedics working at the fictional Chicago Fire Department’s Firehouse 51. But this action movie isn’t just about saving lives; it’s also about getting to know each character deeper as if you were part of the team.
During the three years that Barnett starred in “Chicago Fire,” Mills proved to be a compassionate, determined and talented member of the team who hoped to honor his late father, who was murdered. after he and Sheriff Boden (Eamonn Walker) rush in. a building is burning against orders. In season 3, Mills decides to leave the fire station to work at his family’s restaurant in North Carolina. This revelation surprised fans.
While the departure left viewers confused and sad, behind the scenes there was a specific explanation for Barnett’s sudden departure. This is the real reason why Charlie Barnett left “Chicago Fire”.
Charlie Barnett was removed from Chicago Fire to make room for new characters
The move to send Mills packing came as a surprise to both “Chicago Fire” fans and Barnett himself. In fact, shortly after leaving the show, the actor told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that the news was completely unfounded.
“It was just a normal day of filming,” recalls Barnett. “I hadn’t heard anything about it and then [the writers and producers] pulled me into a room, sat me down and apologized. They expressed that it wasn’t about me or me as a person.” an actor or my personality… But they felt that Peter had peaked and the writers didn’t know where to take him because he’d done so much already.”
It wasn’t just that “Chicago Fire” didn’t know what to do with Mills. The decision to cut Barnett also involved introducing new characters to the show.
“Chicago Fire” executive producer Matt Olmstead told TV Guide at the time: “The hardest part of this job is when you feel like it’s the right time to change the cast. [Losing Barnett] based solely on attracting new people for new stories. Otherwise it turns into a clown car. You have affection and admiration for [your cast] so you keep them all people, but that would be detrimental to objectivity and make some difficult demands in terms of storytelling. So we wanted to change things up and bring in a new character… and we I’m here. It was an extremely difficult decision but we feel good about it.”
Despite the surprising developments, Barnett held no grudges in making this decision.
“I was definitely stunned,” he said. “I’m not angry at all. I’ve gotten so much out of the show, the relationships, the family we’ve created. It’s more than special and will never go away. I’ve learned a lot about myself as an actor, about my business and my direction.” If you want to go in, it will always be a part of my backbone.”
What has Charlie Barnett been up to since leaving Chicago Fire
Once the initial shock of being dropped from Chicago Fire subsided, Barnett turned his attention to exploring new acting opportunities – and he’s been working steadily since leaving Peter Mills in the rearview mirror.
Barnett has mostly stuck with television, appearing on a number of popular shows, starting with a starring role in the second and final season of the ABC mystery series “Secrets & Lies” in 2016 – only one year after leaving “Chicago Fire”.
Barnett then starred in the short-lived CW military drama “Valor” before landing a role in Netflix’s critically acclaimed television series “Russian Doll,” which debuted in 2019. The Emmy-nominated series follows a partygoer named Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) who keeps dying and coming back to life on the same night, leading her to find Barnett’s character, Alan, in the same situation. time loop. The series has been renewed for a second season but has no release date yet.
In addition to “Russian Doll,” Barnett also appeared on several shows in 2019, including Netflix’s 10-part miniseries “Tales of the City” and the streaming service’s psychological thriller “You” series, starring Penn Badgley, has been renewed for a third season. season.
In 2020, Barnett played John Diggle Jr., aka Deathstroke, on the CW series “Arrow”, which ended its run that same year after eight seasons. The guy is quite busy.
Will Charlie Barnett ever return to Chicago Fire?
To date, Barnett has not returned to “Chicago Fire” since leaving the show in 2015, and there are currently no plans to see him again at Firehouse 51. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen in the future. future – especially since 2020 NBC renewed the series for a ninth, tenth, and eleventh season. For what it’s worth, Barnett has said he welcomes the opportunity to continue his role with open arms.
“Chicago Fire” showrunner Derek Haas once told TVLine that he hopes to one day invite Barnett back, and Barnett admitted to TV Guide that he has “discussed” the possibility of a return. “I would love to [return] but I haven’t had the chance yet,” he said. “There are so many things going on on the show that I don’t know where they’ll fit in… But I’m absolutely ready to come back.”
One way Barnett could return to the One Chicago series, he joked to TVLine, would be through a spinoff with Mills’ on-screen love interest Gabby Dawson, who was played by Monica Raymund before leaving. series in early 2018. season 7.
“I’ve known Monica since I was 12, which is weird, so she’s more like a younger sister to me, even though we have to kiss on TV TV,” said Barnett. [Laughs] I love her to death and so do we. joked about building our own little ‘Chicago’ spin-off where Dawson and Mills make their way to Puerto Rico and set up their own fire station there – ‘Chicago Puerto Rico’!”
All kidding aside, Barnett is extremely serious about one day returning to “Chicago Fire” and said, “I would be happy to return. I love the show, it gives me everything I want.” yes. It was an incredible turning point in my career.” .”
Fans are looking forward to seeing Charlie Barnett return
It seems like Barnett is eager to return to “Chicago Fire,” but what do fans of the series think? Back in 2019, Reddit user u/tvscribbler shared a link to a TV Guide article in which Barnett discussed his desire to return to the series. Several other users expressed their own feelings on the matter in the comments section, and they largely agreed that Barnett’s return would be welcome.
“YES PLEASE! I’d love to see this,” u/CharlesBeast wrote. User u/toolate4agoodname is similarly excited about the prospect. They commented, “yes!! I hope so!!”
Some commentators have made the case for Barnett’s theoretical return: if Peter Mills returns, they’d like the writers to spend more time developing the character. User u/bulldogs3401 wrote: “Yeah! I just hope they do something a little better with his character,” while u/scrappydooooo117 said: “It would be interesting if he did. .. hope he will be recorded as a good character!”
For fans like you/fonziesgrl, Barnett may have left “Chicago Fire” but he’s never forgotten. They wrote: “Just watched him in Russian Doll on Netflix and kept thinking how much I miss Peter Mills. Hope he comes back, even if just for a few episodes.” User u/inspectorkido also has a similar wavelength. They wrote in to say, “Was thinking about his character the other day while watching the show. One of the guys I feel should have stayed…”
Only time will tell if Barnett will rejoin Firehouse 51, but it seems like it’s something both he and “Chicago Fire” fans want to happen.
