'It Wasn't Easy': Chicago Fire Star Opens Up About Surprise Exit Decision

Fans have seen a lot of Chicago Fire departures over the years, which is par for the course for a show that has been on the air for over a decade. Cast exits may be common, but they often still sting. Now that network shows are returning to the TV schedule this winter, fans will not be immune to saying goodbye to some of their favorites, and, following the announcement of the departure of Kara Kilmer, Alberto Rosende has followed suit with his own post.

For the last four (soon to be 4+)  seasons, Rosende has been on Truck 81 fighting alongside his fellow crew members. He’s played Blake Gallo on the series since Season 8, replacing the already departed Yuri Sardorov, whose character Otis was memorably killed off. Unlike Sardorov, it looks like Rosende’s decision was his own to make, though the actor noted in a post on his Instagram Story that “it wasn’t easy,” writing:

News broke on Friday that Chicago Fire will be losing Rosende after the Season 12 premiere, so he’ll be leaving the series very soon. The news comes just a few weeks after we learned longtime cast member Kara Kilmer would also be exiting the series, though her date of exit hasn’t been revealed yet, so it’s unclear if their exits will tie together in any way.

When Chicago Fire kicks off new episodes as part of NBC’s winter schedule on January 17th, on the bright side, Taylor Kinney will be making his long-awaited return to the Fire crew after Severide went off for specialized arson training and went radio silent while away from home. His wife Stella Kidd eventually went to track him down in the Season 11 finale, remarking:

That's been a plot people have been hotly anticipating a resolution on, particularly as NBC re-aired stuff about Severide's absence during the WGA strike and SAG-AFTRA actor's strike. It should distract from the looming exits a bit, and even if it doesn't I'd be willing to bet NBC will have some big casting news up its sleeve coming up. If there's one thing I've learned about network dramas, it's that one man's exit is another person's acting opportunity.