Chicago Fire season 14 might not arrive until this fall, but we’re going to be spending the summer worrying about our favorite characters on NBC’s hit drama! This is because it seems the upcoming season of the One Chicago drama will be bringing about some unexpected goodbyes, and we’re not sure anyone will be immune from the cuts that are coming our way!
Late in the season, it was teased that layoffs could be coming to the Chicago Fire Department due to impending budget cuts. The line wasn’t simply tossed out there for dramatic effect. No, it seems layoffs will indeed be coming to the CFD in season 14, and this is going to bring about some major changes within the department that will impact Firehouse 51.
“We’re going to have a lot of turnover,” Chicago Fire showrunner Andrea Newman warned when speaking with TVLine recently, “and a lot craziness going on in the CFD from the top, where people are being cut and moved, and everything’s going to get shaken up next season.”
Newman didn’t stop there, though! When asked if fans should begin preparing themselves to say goodbye to even more characters outside of the previously confirmed departures of Carver and Ritter, Newman hinted that there is both good news and bad news fans should brace for.
“You never know. There will be hellos, and there will be goodbyes. I’ll say that. That’s for sure,” Newman teased.
This seems to suggest that we indeed might see additional characters outside of Carver and Ritter saying goodbye to 51, but what will be interesting to see is whether those goodbyes are temporary or if they’ll pave the way for more cast exits in the season ahead. It's also going to be interesting to see if those hellos Newman teased will be to new faces entering the mix, or if we might see any former characters returning to 51.
We’d be lying if we didn’t admit it would be fun to see a familiar face or two pass through 51 amid these changes in the department, but we’re more worried about what the goodbyes could mean. We’re already bracing ourselves for the loss of Jake Lockett and Daniel Kyri, who are stepping away from the show as series regulars, and we’re not sure we can stomach the idea of losing even more characters in the new season.
The one thing we can hope for is that perhaps the goodbyes will simply involve characters leaving 51 for a stretch of episodes. We could see some members of the 51 team moved to other Chicago firehouses, which would be a goodbye — just not a permanent one that prevents them from appearing on the show. For example, maybe we see Violet or Novak move to another house to serve as a paramedic, or someone like Cruz or Damon being transferred to another firehouse in need of a few firefighters due to the budget cuts.
This could create new storylines for the show to explore in seeing the 51 family fractured in a way we haven’t really seen before, especially for more than an episode or two. This could also create the space for hellos, as perhaps in moving to a new house, we meet either new characters or familiar faces who are working at the firehouse where the 51 members are moved to. As hard as it would be to see the 51 team split up, it would be interesting to see what new dynamics could come from the storyline, and as long as no one leaves the show, we could accept seeing the men and women of 51 in action across the city, navigating those new normals.
Chicago Fire season 14 premieres this fall on NBC!