Why did Taylor Kinney leave ‘Chicago Fire’?

In a terrible blow for Chicago Fire fans, Taylor Kinney has taken a leave of absence from the series after an 11-year-long run. A staple from the beginning, Kinney breathed life into the headstrong Lieutenant Kelly Severide.

His rugged good looks and complex character made him one of the series’ favorites, and set him up as the series’ heartthrob playboy. After meeting his future wife, Lieutenant Stella Kidd, in season four, he tones down his womanizing ways and eventually asks her to marry him in season 9. The pair were finally wed in season 10, but fans shouldn’t be concerned about a death ruining their marital bliss. Series runners don’t intend to off the fan favorite, but instead, explain away his absence as a career move.

Someone close to Kinney told Deadline that he is taking a step back from the rigors of filming to “deal with a personal matter.” Sources close to Kinney see this as more of a leave of absence, and the series is definitely leaving a space for him to return to Severide in the future. His abrupt departure was announced during filming in January, and multiple episodes were rewritten to accommodate his absence.

While Severide’s final appearance may have been in Season 11’s “Run Like Hell,” his sudden departure isn’t explained until the follow-up episode, “Damage Control.” In a passing bit of dialogue, it’s revealed that Severide has left town to join “the best arson investigation training program in the world.” It couldn’t possibly be that cut and dried, however. Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) discovers that his former lieutenant is actually working a massive ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) case, rather than learning how to be an arson investigator. Moving up the career ladder is nothing to begrudge someone, but Severide hasn’t told Stella yet, and Joe unknowingly spills the beans about her husband’s secretive career move.

We won’t know just how Stella takes this news, or if showrunners do intend to keep the door open for Severide until the final episode airs on May 23, but it’s not all doom and gloom for fans. Jesse Spencer will be reprising his role as Mathew Casey. The former fire captain hasn’t been seen since his departure back in 2021, when he left the Chicago Fire Department for Oregon.