The Clever Way 'Chicago Fire' Producers Wrote Off Taylor Kinney

Taylor Kinney is taking a leave of absence for personal reasons.

Whew! Even though Taylor Kinney had said that he was only taking a leave of absence from his role as Lt. Kelly Severide on Chicago Fire, fans were worried that it might be more permanent than that. After all, it wasn’t that long ago (Season 10) that Jesse Spencer permanently exited his role as Lt. Matthew Casey.

But on Wednesday night’s episode, the reason for Severide’s absence was finally revealed. The writers decided to send Severide out of town to attend “the best arson investigation training program in the world.”

It was an offer that was too good to turn down even though Severide isn’t quite ready to give up his job on the rescue truck. But Severide, as Chicago Fire fans know, has a natural instinct when it comes to arson investigation and it is where his career seems to be headed eventually. In fact, he’s a chip off his father Benny’s (Treat Williams) block in that respect, so it makes perfect sense for him to be getting this training.

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Since Kinney was already on his personal leave, Severide didn’t appear in the episode. Rather the news was delivered to Chief Boden (Eamonn Walker) and Firehouse 51 by OFI boss Van Meter (Tom Hopper).

And, of course, there is no way that Severide’s wife Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) could tell him not to go, despite the fact that she returned home to an empty apartment, because when Stella needed to do some traveling for her Girls On Fire program—which was also so that Mayo could take a leave from the series— Severide supported her even when she was gone longer than expected..

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What wasn’t revealed was how long Severide—and Kinney—will be absent, but most likely, for several weeks.

Kinney is an original cast member, having played Severide since Chicago Fire premiered on Oct. 12, 2010.

Chicago Fire airs Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

Next, Chicago Is Blazing! Here's What's Happening on Chicago Fire Season 11