While viewers eagerly anticipate Jessie’s return, it has also been revealed
that Taylor Kinney, who portrays Lt. Kelly Severide, will not be back for the finale
after taking a leave of absence earlier this year. The 41-year-old took a hiatus from
the series “to deal with a personal matter.” taylor kinney chicago fire new© Photo: Getty Images Taylor Kinney will not return The absence of Taylor’s character was explained in an episode titled “Damage Control,” which mentioned Severide attending “the best arson investigation training program in the world.” However, it was hinted that joining the program didn’t necessarily mean that Severide was leaving the firehouse for good. Last month, Taylor made his first red carpet appearance since his break from Chicago Fire at the 2023 MotoGP VIP Experience & Charity Giving event at the Circuit of The Americas racing track outside of Austin, Texas.
Jesse Spencer and Kara Killmer in Chicago Fire season ten© Getty Images Jesse Spencer and Kara Killmer in Chicago Fire season ten The event was for MotoUp, non-profit supporting military communities through motorsports. MotoUp’s Instagram account shared a photo of Taylor posing on the red carpet with his girlfriend Ashley Cruger, captioning it: “Thanks for stopping by @taylorkinney111 to see what we’re doing to help out our #veterans.” Meanwhile, Jesse Spencer, who left the series in October 2021 after 200 episodes, made on the One Chicago series, made an appearance on the April 5 episode of Chicago Fire.
Reflecting on his departure, he said in a roundtable interview, “I was marking off these milestones and looking to the future … and it was time. It felt so organic for me and a perfect full circle and a really reasonable way for Casey to organically leave.” The 44-year-old also returned for the season 10 finale following his exit when Casey came back for his best friend Severide’s wedding to Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). Chicago Fire continues to air on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, with the season 11 finale set to premiere on May 24.
