Taylor Kinney Sets ‘Chicago Fire’ Return for Season 12 After Sudden Leave of Absence

Kelly Severide is coming back to the firehouse.

Taylor Kinney, who left “Chicago Fire” midway through Season 11, will be back for the upcoming 12th season, Variety confirms. It’s not yet determined how many episodes he will appear in. According to sources, his return will be toward the beginning of the season.

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In January, the actor stepped away from the NBC procedural to deal with a personal matter. Kinney last appeared in the 14th episode of Season 11, which aired in February. In the March 1 episode, his character did not appear; Severide had left town to go to an arson investigation training program, jumping at an opportunity that was too big to pass up.

While he didn’t come back for the Season 11 finale, Jesse Spencer, who exited the show in 2021, made a guest appearance. Spencer has made numerous appearances since his departure, and during the finale, proposed to Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer), so he will likely appear again next season.

Although the writers’ room for the new season has begun, there is no premiere date as the SAG-AFTRA strike is ongoing. Andrea Newman, formerly co-showrunner with Derek Haas, will be showrunning “Chicago Fire” Season 12; Haas, who co-created the series, walked away from Wolf Entertainment after Season 11.

The Kinney news comes amid many changes in the One Chicago world; Nick Gehlfuss, who appeared in every episode of “Chicago Med,” exited at the end of last season. On “Chicago P.D.,” Jesse Lee Soffer left at the top of last season; Tracy Spiridakos, who plays Soffer’s character’s wife Hailey Upton, will be exiting during the upcoming 11th season.

“Chicago Fire” is produced by Universal Television and Wolf Entertainment.

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