Taylor Kinney Returning to ‘Chicago Fire’ for Season 12

Taylor Kinney is back! The TV star will return to Chicago Fire for season 12, according to multiple reports, following his sudden departure midway through the previous season. 

Kinney, who had led the NBC firefighter drama since its debut in 2012, was last seen in the 14th episode of Chicago Fire‘s 11th season, which aired in February 2023. He then stepped away from the NBC show to deal with a personal matter. By episode 15, Kinney’s character, Lieutenant Kelly Severide, left town to attend an arson investigation training program. He has not been seen since. 

At the start of the character’s absence, his wife, Stella (Miranda Rae Mayo), was seen in their empty apartment. While the rest of the crew was happy for Severide, paramedic Brett (Kara Killmer) did note that she doesn’t envy Stella’s situation, because she knows how difficult it is to maintain a long-distance relationship.

The Chicago Fire writers’ room restarted the week of Oct. 4 following the end of the Writers Guild of America strike on Sept. 27. Per Deadline, the first scripts for season 12 feature Severide. Because the Screen Actors Guild continues to strike, there is no premiere date set for the show. 

The uncertainty around Kinney’s future with Chicago Fire comes amid major changes in recent years for the OneChicago universe, following Brian Tee’s Chicago Med send-off last year, Jesse Lee Soffer’s Chicago P.D. departure in 2022 and Jesse Spencer’s Chicago Fire exit in 2021. 

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