'Chicago Fire' Star Taylor Kinney Is Coming Back

Paulette Cohn
·2 min read
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Taylor Kinney

Fan favorite Taylor Kinney will be returning to his role as Lieutenant Kelly Severide on Chicago Fire when the NBC drama returns for its 12th season in 2024.

The news leaked now that the Chicago Fire writers room is back in action, following the resolution of the WGA strike. Deadline revealed that the first scripts of the new season include Kelly Severide.

That said, it isn’t clear if Kinney is back for the entire season or is just returning to wrap up his role following his unexplained absence last January to deal with a personal matter.

Taylor Kinney, Miranda Rae Mayo<p>Photo by: Adrian S. Burrows Sr./NBC</p>
Taylor Kinney, Miranda Rae Mayo

Photo by: Adrian S. Burrows Sr./NBC

Severide’s absence as of the Feb. 22 episode had been explained that he was offered special training in Alabama at an arson investigation training program, which worked perfectly as it is a skill that Severide exceeds at.

But then later in the season, Stella (Miranda Rae Mayo), Kelly’s wife, discovered that he had wrapped up the training program and was working on an actual investigation, but hadn’t called to update her on his status. She went in search of him, which may be where we pick up when season 12 returns.

Related: Will Taylor Kinney Be Back for Chicago Fire Season 12? Everything We Know About the Future of the Show

In Kinney’s absence, Chicago Fire’s 11th season was wrapped up with the return of Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer) for two episodes.

Chicago Fire is set to return to the NBC schedule in its usual Wednesday night at 9 p.m. timeslot when the show returns following the resolution of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Related: Chicago P.D. Star Tracy Spiridakos to Exit After Season 11

The news of Kinney’s return comes on the heels of several departures in the OneChicago world. Tracy Spiridakos, who plays Hailey Upton, recently revealed she will exiting Chicago P.D. during the upcoming 11th season. Her departure follows that of fellow cast member and her character's partner and husband Jesse Lee Soffer, who played Det. Jay Halstead.

In other news, original cast member Nick Gehlfus exited Chicago Med at the end of last season.

Next, After a Major Cast Shakeup, What's in Store for Chicago Med Season 9