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Chicago Fire star Taylor Kinney won't return for the NBC drama's Season 11 finale, according to a new report.
The report comes via Deadline. It claims that Kinney's Lieutenant Kelly Severide will not make an appearance in the 11th season's final episode, "Red Waterfall," despite persistent rumors to the contrary. Kinney took a leave of absence from Chicago Fire in January 2023 for personal reasons, and it's currently unclear when he's expected to take part in filming again. Kinney's time away from Chicago Fire has been keenly felt by fans, although a recently announced guest appearance by one of his former co-stars, Jesse Spencer, in the Season 11 finale will likely lift their spirits.
Exactly how Spencer's character, Captain Matthew Casey, will factor into the Chicago Fire Season 11 finale's plot is currently unclear, although other plot details have already surfaced online. Key narrative developments that fans can expect in "Red Waterfall" include Paramedic in Charge Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) agonizing over "life-changing news," Lieutenant Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) receiving an ominous premonition from a psychic, and Lieutenant Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) chasing down a new line of inquiry in her Homeland Security case.
NBC Executive Talks One Chicago's Hiatus
Regardless of how events pan out in "Red Waterfall," fans shouldn't worry that the episode will mark the end of the series itself. NBC recently confirmed it was renewing Chicago Fire for a 12th season, as part of an announcement regarding the future of the wider One Chicago franchise. The announcement also included the news that NBC was greenlighting additional seasons of the franchise's other shows, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. These renewals will no doubt come as a relief to fans spooked by NBC's decision to put all three One Chicago shows on a month-long hiatus from April 5 to May 3.
An unnamed NBC executive recently commented on the One Chicago franchise's hiatus, insisting that the scheduling shake-up was nothing out of the ordinary for the franchise. "This is normal scheduling for the Chicago shows," the executive said. "You need a balance of original and encore episodes so that the season can run from September through May." NBC's confidence in its approach to scheduling the One Chicago shows presumably reflects the franchise's strong ratings. Chicago Fire is currently the network's most-watched program with 9.5 million total viewers, while Chicago Med and Chicago P.D. has drawn in 8.7 million viewers and 8.5 million viewers, respectively.
Chicago Fire Season 11 is currently airing on NBC, with new episodes dropping Wednesdays.
Source: Deadline