Lauren German’s Leslie Shay was killed off in Chicago Fire season 3, and, as a fan-favorite character, it surprised quite a few viewers at the time. Chicago Fire is one of the many long-running network procedurals and a pillar of the One Chicago shared universe, currently still going strong in its 13th season. Of course, as with any lengthy network show, characters are bound to be killed off, and Chicago Fire has seen its fair share of deaths.
Still, the loss of Leslie Shay was one of the most shocking deaths in Chicago Fire’s history, not only because it was the first big one, but because it was so unexpected. Her death let audiences know that no character was safe, and gave the ensuing storylines more weight and gravitas. Plenty of fans have wondered why Lauren German was written out of the show when it all seemed to be going well. As it turns out, it was a tough creative decision.
Leslie Shay’s Shock Death In The Chicago Fire Season 3 Opener Explained
Season 2 Ended On A Devastating Cliffhanger
Leslie Shay was beloved by most fans of the show, as well as an integral figure, so when the Chicago Fire season 2 finale found her in a terrible accident and the opening of season 3 confirmed she had not survived, it hit audiences hard. The Chicago Fire season 2 finale, “Real Never Waits,” sees Chief Boden and Donna elope and have their wedding at the firehouse, but their happy day is disrupted when a call comes in about a fire in a five-story building.
Dawson, Shay, and the squad enter the building, when suddenly, Severide radios the team and tells them to pull back before the line goes dead. As a horrified Boden watches, the building explodes. While Boden tries to get his team to respond on the radio from outside, the episode and season end on a cliffhanger as no one responds. Season 3 opens with confirmation that Shay does not make it. Severide finds Dawson giving Shay CPR, and it’s revealed that Shay was struck on the head by a heavy pipe as the building collapsed. Despite their desperate attempts to save her, and perhaps because of them, Shay’s death is one of the most tragic in Chicago Fire.
Why Chicago Fire Wrote Out Lauren German’s Shay
It Was Purely A Creative Decision – If A Tough One
Unfortunately for Lauren German, the decision to exit Chicago Fire wasn’t her own. While Chicago Fire was wildly popular, heading into season 2, it was clear that the show would have to start shaking things up. Thus, the decision to kill off Shay was made by the showrunners in order to give the sophomore show its first big death. Fans were devastated and angry about it, but the creative team behind Chicago Fire knew that it had to make a bold decision with its first major character being killed off. As EP and showrunner Matt Olmstead (via TVLine) explained
“Going into it, we knew if we were going to do it, it had to be someone who was going to give us a big impact, as opposed to going for a lesser-known character, which would equate to a pulled punch. So, as opposed to approaching it with timidity, we thought we’d go for it… We came back to Shay because it affected the most people.”
Omstead then related how, during the first show he worked on, NYPD Blue, the death of Jimmy Smits’ character Bobby Simone taught him a lesson about how one character exiting can be better for a series in the long run: “[W]hat it gave them emotionally and in terms of storytelling and then thereafter was worth it,” he explained. “Sometimes, you have to do that to bring more storylines into a show, and that’s what we decided to do.”
In many ways, it was because Lauren German was so good as an actress, and her character of Lauren Shay was so loved that she was the first major character on the chopping block. At the time of her death in the show, Shay was a central pillar of Firehouse 51 and the storylines of Chicago Fire. As Olmstead said, there was truly no other character in the show by the end of season 2 whose death would have had a more profound impact on the other characters. That’s born out in the seasons since; even years after Shay’s death, the other characters still talk about her. As Kelly Severide says in season 9, episode 2
“Shay rode on 61. She was part of the DNA of this firehouse. She was our friend. So much new blood in 51 these days, pretty soon the people who never knew Shay are gonna outnumber those of us who did. And they should know whose shadow they’re walking in.”
What Lauren German Has Done Since Leaving Chicago Fire
Her Next Role Was An Even Better One
TV junkies will recognize German for her leading role in Lucifer, which she landed shortly after leaving Chicago Fire. German starred as LAPD detective Chloe Decker opposite Tom Ellis’ titular ruler of Hell. Lucifer, tired of his role as Hell’s overseer, vacates his throne and heads to Earth to live in Los Angeles as the hedonistic owner of the nightclub Lux. Using his skills to get people to reveal their darkest desires to him, he moonlights as a consultant for the LAPD and Detective Decker’s civilian partner and, later, her love interest.
Lucifer’s Chloe Decker was the perfect role to highlight German’s talents after Chicago Fire.
While German’s Chloe is a romantic interest, however, she’s no damsel-in-distress. She’s capable and smart, and is often the one helping Lucifer out of a jam, so it was the perfect role to highlight German’s talents after Chicago Fire. Since Lucifer ended after six seasons in 2021, however, German has yet to appear in a new movie or TV show.
Instead, it appears German has chosen to focus on her art for now, most recently partnering up with Bonfire for a series of t-shirts to raise money for L.A. Children’s Hospital (via Instagram). As she’s stepped back from social media in the past few years after her Chicago Fire and Lucifer roles, it appears Lauren German is happy right now staying out of the spotlight.
