With over 200 episodes since its premiere in 2012, “Chicago Fire” has seen plenty of characters come and go. The series, part of the massively popular “One Chicago” franchise, centers on a fictional group of firefighters and paramedics and their drama in and out of work.
One “Chicago Fire” character that has come and gone is Jessica “Chili” Chilton, played by Dora Madison. Chili makes her debut in Season 3 of the series when she replaces Peter Mills (Charlie Barnett) as Ambulance 61’s paramedic-in-charge. Chili has a tough time after the sudden death of her twin sister and often turns to alcohol to cope. This ultimately led to her demise as she was fired for drinking on the job and taken off the show in Season 4.
Chili also showed up in two episodes of “Chicago Med” for crossover appearances, but before her work in the Dick Wolf universe, she had a few relatively well-known roles under her belt (via IMDb). Here are the big projects you might have seen Madison in before.
Dora Madison got her big break with Friday Night Lights
Dora Madison (at the time, Madison Burge) landed her first significant role in the hit football drama series “Friday Night Lights.” She played Becky Sproles, an East Dillon High School student and pageant queen. Becky is first introduced in the series in Season 4 when she befriends football player Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch). Throughout her time in high school, Becky begins a flirtatious relationship with Luke Cafferty (Matt Lauria), which eventually leads to her getting pregnant. With her mother’s urging, she decides to terminate the pregnancy because she can’t afford to raise a baby and hardly knows the baby’s father.
Luke and Becky eventually start their relationship over, and the two stick it out through the series finale. When Luke heads off to join the Army, he leaves Becky with his State Championship ring, and we’re left to believe they have what it takes to survive long-distance and a military relationship.
She helps to provide closure with her character in Dexter’s final season
After her stint on “Friday Night Lights,” Dora Madison would go on to have several other minor roles in TV series and a few films, but you’re more likely to recognize her from her small appearance in the last season of the hit serial killer drama, “Dexter.”
In “Dexter,” Madison plays Niki Waters, a woman who shows up to the Miami Metro-Police Department searching for Vince Masuka (C.S. Lee). Much to Masuka’s surprise, she later reveals that he is her father, and he mistakenly suspects she is only there for his money. After he finds out she works at a topless bar, Masuka gives Waters a job at the police department, which she later ruins by showing up at a crime scene high off of marijuana.
Fans of the show weren’t too impressed by Madison’s character as she was dubbed “the most useless character in the history of television” by a Reddit thread. But in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the show’s writer, Scott Buck, said they mainly used her character to provide closure in “Dexter’s” final season.
“We’ve spent eight years with these characters, and we want some feeling of where their lives are going to go. With Masuka and his daughter, it was meant to be a simple nod to the fact that Masuka hasn’t been the most sexless character we’ve ever seen on the show and the irony that the one satisfying relationship with a woman that he would finally have would be with his daughter,” Buck said.
Madison would make a return to teen dramas in Star-Crossed
After “Dexter,” Dora Madison made guest appearances in several crime TV shows but more notably in 2014, she would make her return to the teen drama genre in CW’s “Star-Crossed” after her appearing in ABC Family’s “The Lying Game” in 2011.
“Star-Crossed” follows a teen girl who falls in love with an alien boy after his people called Atrians come to Earth, and seven of his friends integrate into small-town high school. Madison plays Zoe, best friend of the popular girl, Taylor (Natalie Hall), who later reveals herself to be an Atrian. Unfortunately, the show was canceled after only 13 episodes due to an underwhelming midseason viewership (via Deadline).
After “Star-Crossed,” Madison landed her role in “Chicago Fire” and would later appear in the films “Everybody Wants Some!!” and “Bliss.” Her last credited appearance was in “Alone With You,” and for now, it looks like she has no projects in production.
