Could an original member of the Chicago Fire cast be making their way back to Firehouse 51? That’s the question on the minds of fans after original series regular Charlie Barnett has been spotted back on set alongside his former Chicago Fire co-stars.
In a newly released photo from Chicago Fire actor Leroy S. Williams, who plays Ballard on the show, Barnett reunites with his former co-stars Anthony Ferraris, Joe Minoso, and Randy Flagler on the set of NBC’s hit firefighter drama. In the photo, taken against the Squad 3 rig, Barnett is all smiles as he stands alongside Ferraris, Minoso, and Flagler, who are all donning their firefighter gear from the show. Barnett, meanwhile, is dressed much more casually, wearing jeans, a Rockets hoodie, an olive puffer jacket, and a knit beanie.
While it’s unclear when exactly the photo was snapped, it appears to have been taken recently, as all photos and videos from Williams’ Instagram post seem connected to the show’s fourteenth episode, which aired on March 11. This seems to suggest that Barnett was simply passing through Chicago and dropped by the set to catch up with his former colleagues, but his return to the set has quickly sparked rumors about whether his character, Peter Mills, could be coming back to town for the first time in over a decade.
Barnett was a key part of the early seasons of Chicago Fire, with Mills often being at the forefront of the show’s central storylines. The son of a firefighter, Mills was determined to make a name for himself when he joined the CFD and landed at Firehouse 51 as a firefighter candidate. He quickly proved his skills, landing him a role on Squad 3, where he worked alongside Ferraris, Minoso, and Flagler’s characters, Tony, Cruz, and Capp.
Early in season 3, Mills received news that changed his life when his doctor informed him he had Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) and was unfit to continue within the CFD as a firefighter. Not wanting to give up on his career in the CFD, Mills took a paramedic position on Ambulance 61. He’d eventually take a grueling medical exam to try to get back onto Squad 3, which he passed, allowing him to return to Squad 3.
While he was waiting for his results, life threw an unexpected curveball his way as he learned that his late grandfather had left him and his sister a restaurant in North Carolina. As their family’s Chicago restaurant had recently been burned down by an arsonist, Mills’ sister and mother decided to leave Chicago to move to North Carolina to start fresh by running the restaurant, and they hoped he would join them.
Initially, Mills chose to return to Squad 3 rather than moving to North Carolina with his mom and sister, but on his first call back on Squad 3, he overheard a colleague talking about the importance of family. This conversation struck a chord with Mills as he realized his mom and sister needed him, and he decided to leave the CFD to move to North Carolina to run the restaurant with his family.
Mills last appeared in season 3, episode 20, “You Know Where to Find Me,” which served as the character’s final episode, with his 51 family members bidding him farewell as he left town. The character has never returned since, which is why Barnett’s sudden appearance on the Chicago Fire season nearly 11 years after his last episode of the show has fans hopeful that Mills could return for a cameo or even a guest stint.
For now, it appears that Barnett was simply passing through Chicago and dropped by to see his friends on the cast. However, only time will tell whether he might pop back up to reprise his role as Mills sometime before Chicago Fire season 14 comes to a close!