The 12th season of Chicago Fire, which premiered on January 17, 2024, has welcomed Lieutenant Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) back to the series.
This comes after the character took a break from his Firehouse 51 team in order to assist OFI (the Office of Fire Investigation). With Kelly seemingly working full-time with the OFI, showrunner Andrea Newman shared that they once considered a spin-off starring Kelly Severide — and revealed why it will never happen.
“We have [considered it] but having lost Severide for a bit [in season 11,] it was a reminder of what a critical part of 51 he is. OFI is a great internal struggle for him. As Kidd says early on in the episode, she considers arson as his ‘drug,’ and it’s an addiction for him and he gets lost in it,” Newman told Hello! Magazine.
Newman added, “It’s partly because it’s in the blood, his dad was also in OFI, but partly because there’s something that just taps into something deep within him when he gets into it. It then becomes a danger zone for him in some ways – but he also loves it and obviously has the skills for it. So that struggle will be a big part of the first few episodes of the season.”
What happened to Kelly Severide during Season 11?
The actor, who has been on the show since its inception in 2012, took a sudden leave of absence midway through Season 11. To adjust the story for the actor’s absence, the 15th episode of Season 11 has written out Kelly Severide by making him attend an arson investigation in Alabama, which prompted him to leave his town for a while.
The synopsis for Chicago Fire Season 12 reads: “In the wake of a fire/extremist threat, Mouch’s life hangs in the balance. Sylvie’s relationship with Dylan came to a close, and a new door opened as Casey proposed to her, all the while as she was looking to adopt an infant girl. Stella makes the decision to leave Chicago in hopes of bringing Kelly back.”
Apart from Kinney, Season 12 of the NBC procedural also stars David Eigenberg as Lieutenant Christopher Herrmann, Joe Minoso as Firefighter Joe Cruz, Miranda Rae Mayo as Lieutenant Stella Kidd, Daniel Kyri as Darren Ritter, Hanako Greensmith as Paramedic Violet Mikami, Eamonn Walker as Deputy District Chief Wallace Boden, and Christian Stolte as Randall McHolland.
Kara Killmer, who played Paramedic Sylvie Brett in the series, will exit Chicago Fire during the course of Season 12. On the other hand, Alberto Rosende’s Blake Gallo made one last appearance during the Season 12 premiere.
