Is Taylor Kinney leaving Chicago Fire?

Severide (Taylor Kinney) is a Chicago Fire centerpiece. The firefighter has been at the heart of some of the best narrative arcs in the entire series, and the departure of his partner-in-crime, Casey (Jesse Spencer), makes his presence all the more precious.

But what if Kinney is the next cast member to exit? There have been hints that Severide is looking at different career paths within Chicago, which may hint at him leaving his position at Firehouse 51.

While the idea of no Casey and no Severide is daunting, showrunner Derek Haas has shed some light on the future of the latter and where his career path may take him for the rest of season 10.

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Haas told TV Guide that Severide is at a bit of a crossroads, and that the influence of Lt. Seager (Andy Allo) has been a beacon of hope during an otherwise difficult period. In the “Winterfest” episode, Seager proposed the idea of Severide joining forces with her as an arson investigator.

"“Making Severide interested in arson and having a knack for it lends itself to some cool stories that we just normally wouldn’t tell in a show about just a firehouse”, the showrunner explained. “So we’re definitely bringing that back.”"

Haas went on to highlight the different ways in which Severide’s arson interests will factor into the show, which seems to push up against the concern that the character will be seen less. In fact, it sounds as though Kinney will be more involved in Chicago Fire cases than he has been in some time.

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“That makes it fun for us, to be able to push him into those stories and pull them back out”, Haas said. “There’ll be a few more of those before the year is over. You haven’t seen the last of Seager.” Another factor that seems to hint at Severide’s long term involvement is the unresolved romance he currently has with Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). Her sudden return during the mid-season finale will lead to the resolution of several dangling plot threads, and her engagement to Severide is chief among them.

Extracurricular projects can often be linked to an actor’s future schedule, and Chicago Fire fans will be relived to know that Kinney doesn’t have any big commitments beyond the show. The last film he appeared in was 2018’s Here and Now, and his TV credits over the past decade have solely been as part of the One Chicago universe.

It doesn’t look like Severide or Kinney is going away anytime soon.

Chicago Fire returns in 2022 on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 9/8c on NBC. Catch up on the season so far on Hulu.