Job changes, life changes, and death are inescapable on Chicago Fire, the long-running firefighter drama that launched NBC’s One Chicago franchise. More than a dozen series regulars have left the show so far, and such exits take a toll, even on the actors.
Former Chicago Fire star Yuriy Sardarov told TV Insider it’s hard to adjust to not being on the call sheet: “You’re on a network television show and waking up every day at 5 a.m. when it’s -20 [degrees],” he said. “You’re outside with your brothers and sisters, carrying a ladder all day and sweating in your suit. Then suddenly to not have that, it’s a real shock to the system.”
Here’s how all the former Chicago Fire stars made their exits — and, for those whose departures were explained, why.
Teri Reeves (Hallie Thomas)
Reeves was only a series regular for Chicago Fire’s first season, during which her doc character was murdered by a drug trafficker. Additional details are scant, but by all reports, the decision to let Reeves go was merely a creative one.
Lauren German (Leslie Shay)
Shay, a paramedic on the show, died in the show’s Season 3 premiere, following a building explosion. The producers wanted to amplify the show’s emotional stakes and depict the dangers of first-responder life, as Matt Olmstead told Entertainment Weekly.
Charlie Barnett (Peter Mills)
Later in Season 3, Mills chose to leave Chicago to help out with a family restaurant in Chicago. Olmstead told EW the character’s journey was at a stopping point, and for the record, Barnett revealed to Digital Spy he was “really sad to be let go” from the show.
Dora Madison (Jessica “Chili” Chilton)
Madison (pictured at left) departed Chicago Fire in Season 4 as her paramedic character had an alcoholism relapse. Olmstead informed The Hollywood Reporter it was a creative decision for shock value, but said he and the other producers “liked the actress a lot, and she did a great job.”
Steven R. McQueen (Jimmy Borrelli)
Borrelli’s firefighter days ended when an explosion partially blinded him in Season 5. “There are times when people get injured, or really bad things happen to them, and we don’t follow through on that, and sometimes we feel like we have to pull the trigger on certain things,” executive producer Michael Brandt explained to TVLine.
Monica Raymund (Gabriela Dawson)
Though she has guest-starred on the show since, Raymund ended her full-time Chicago Fire employment in Season 6, as Dawson left Chicago for relief efforts in Puerto Rico. On social media, Raymund told fans it was time for her to “move on to the next chapter in life.”
Yuriy Sardarov (Brian “Otis” Zvonecek)
A mattress factory explosion claimed the life of Otis in Season 8. But that demise was Sardarov’s decision as he told TV Insider: “There came a point I told [producer Derek Haas] and said, ‘I think I’m ready to go.’ It was my decision.”
Annie Ilonzeh (Emily Foster)
Foster, a paramedic on the show, exited the narrative as she reapplied to medical school in Season 8. So far, however, it’s unclear why Ilonzeh exited Chicago Fire — and whether it was her choice to do so.
Adriyan Rae (Gianna Mackey)
Rae was a series regular for Season 9, but she left after just nine episodes due to “private reasons,” as Haas told EW, as Mackey got transferred to another firehouse. In an Instagram post, Rae said her time on the show came to “an unexpected end.”
Jesse Spencer (Matthew Casey)
Spencer said goodbye to Chicago Fire in Season 10, as Casey decided to move to Oregon to care for his late best friend’s kids (though he has made some reprise apperances). At the time of his exit, Spencer told Us Weekly he had other plans for his future and family members he needed to take care of.
Eamonn Walker (Wallace Boden)
Walker stepped down from full-timer status as Boden got promoted to CFD deputy commissioner in Season 12’s finale. The reasons behind the actor’s departure aren’t clear, but he has already returned to Chicago Fire as a guest star and is likely to do so again. “If they write it, I will come,” he told TV Insider.
Kara Killmer (Sylvie Brett)
After Sylvie married Casey in Season 12, she followed him to his new life in Oregon. “I think this is definitely the natural conclusion for Sylvie’s character arc,” Killmer told TV Insider. “I am so selfishly delighted over the fact that she came to Chicago because she was a jilted bride … then ends up after 10 years across the aisle from the love of her life.”
Alberto Rosende (Blake Gallo)
Gallo took his leave from the Windy City in the Season 12 premiere, deciding to move to Michigan to live with his aunt. In an Instagram Story, Rosende said that development was his doing. “When I decided to end my time with Chicago, it wasn’t easy,” he said. “The people I’ve met were truly special, the friendships I’ve made will last a lifetime, and the story I got to tell was one that made me proud.”
Daniel Kyri (Darren Ritter)
Fans learned this April that Kyri won’t return as a series regular in Season 14, with Deadline reporting the decision was believed to be a cost-saving measure. Talking to the Windy City Times, Kyri said, “I think the run came to a natural conclusion. As a result, I feel more ready than ever to tell other stories.”
Jake Lockett (Sam Carver)
Lockett’s departure made headlines alongside Kyri’s and also believed to be a budgetary move. Both Ritter and Carver’s exits will likely be depicted (or, at least, mentioned) in Season 14. “While I don’t exactly know what the future looks like, I do know that it won’t be exactly what it was, and I am going to miss the hell out of that. So much pride in this journey,” Lockett wrote on Instagram this month.
