The season 11 finale of Chicago Fire will air Wednesday, May 24 on NBC
Chicago Fire fans will have to wait a bit longer for the return of Taylor Kinney.
PEOPLE has learned that Kinney, who plays Lt. Kelly Severide, will not return
for the season 11 finale of the NBC drama after taking a leave of absence earlier this year. However, Jesse Spencer will make a guest appearance in the season finale, reprising his role as Matt Casey. In January, a source close to the production of Chicago Fire confirmed to PEOPLE that Kinney, 41, would be taking a hiatus from the series “to deal with a personal matter.” His leave of absence was explained in this season’s episode titled “Damage Control,” in which Kinney’s character was said to be attending “the best arson investigation training program in the world.”
However, it was hinted that joining the program doesn’t necessarily mean that Severide is leaving the firehouse for good. Last month, the actor made his first red carpet appearance since his hiatus from Chicago Fire. He visited the 2023 MotoGP VIP Experience & Charity Giving event at the Circuit of The Americas racing track outside of Austin, Texas. The event was for MotoUp, a non-profit supporting military communities through motorsports. “Thanks for stopping by @taylorkinney111 to see what we’re doing to help out our #veterans,” the organization’s Instagram account wrote on Saturday alongside a photo of Kinney posing on the red carpet with his girlfriend Ashley Cruger.
As for Spencer, he appeared on the April 5 episode of Chicago Fire after leaving the series in October 2021 following 200 episodes on the One Chicago series. “I was marking off these milestones and looking to the future … and it was time,” he said in a roundtable interview at the time. “It felt so organic for me and a perfect full circle and a really reasonable way for Casey to organically leave.” Spencer, 44, also returned for the season 10 finale following his exit when Casey came back for his best friend Severide (Kinney)’s wedding to Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo).
