With each passing year, the One Chicago franchise’s roster of original cast members just keeps growing smaller and smaller.
On July 2, word broke that LaRoyce Hawkins would be exiting Chicago PD after 13 seasons playing Officer Kevin Atwater. The news shocked fans of NBC’s police procedural, who have been left speechless by the announcement that Hawkins is set to exit the series at the top of season 14.
Hawkins is the latest in a growing list of original One Chicago stars to exit the franchise, with the last few years in particular bringing an end to several longtime cast members' time on Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD. In fact, with Hawkins’ exit, there are now only 10 original series regulars remaining in the One Chicago franchise across the three series.
Chicago PD and Chicago Fire retain the most original series regulars, with four each, while Chicago Med has only two series regulars from the first season still in its cast. Following Hawkins’ exit, the list of remaining original One Chicago franchise series regulars include the following stars:
- Jason Beghe (Hank Voight) - Chicago PD
- David Eigenberg (Christopher Herrmann) - Chicago Fire
- Taylor Kinney (Kelly Severide) - Chicago Fire
- John Patrick Flueger (Adam Ruzek) - Chicago PD
- S. Epatha Merkerson (Sharon Goodwin) - Chicago Med
- Joe Minoso (Joe Cruz) - Chicago Fire
- Amy Morton (Trudy Platt) - Chicago PD
- Oliver Platt (Daniel Charles) - Chicago Med
- Marina Squerciati (Kim Burgess) - Chicago PD
- Christian Stolte (Randall "Mouch" McHolland) - Chicago Fire
It’s hard to process the fact that only 10 original series regulars remain with the One Chicago franchise, especially considering there was a time when the casts of Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med were anchored by a much larger group of familiar faces. Every major departure has reshaped the franchise in its own way, making the remaining originals all the more special to longtime fans who have followed these characters from the very beginning. Sadly, there is a very real chance that this list could grow even smaller this fall.
Chicago Fire season 15 could open with the exit of an original star
Much like how the Marvel Cinematic Universe has undergone its own changing of the guard with many of the original Avengers gradually exiting the franchise, the One Chicago franchise has seen many of its original stars leave the franchise over the years with just a few mainstays remaining. We’ve established that there are only 10 original stars in the franchise, and that list may grow smaller depending on how the Chicago Fire season 14 cliffhanger is resolved.
Season 14 ended with the lives of nearly every member of Firehouse 51 left up in the air after a call went south. There is a really good chance that someone might not survive the fire, and the three most likely candidates to be killed off all happen to be original series regulars.
The closing moments included a montage that wove in clips of three of the team’s wives in a move that has many worried it was the show’s way of foreshadowing that one of the men might not make it back home to them. This has left fans worried that Herrmann, Cruz, or Mouch might die in the season 15 premiere as a result of injuries sustained during the season 14 finale fire.
It’s been a while now since Chicago Fire has killed off a main character in the line of duty, and it does not help that the season 14 finale is very reminiscent of the season 2 finale. Season 2 ended with every member of 51 trapped within a building that went up in smoke as Chief Boden watched on in horror, and season 3 then opened with the death of Shay in the line of duty.
Should Chicago Fire kill off one of these three characters, that would bring about the exit of yet another original member of the One Chicago ensemble and truly mark a major turning point in the franchise. The exit of Joe Minoso, David Eigenberg, or Christian Stolte would leave Chicago Fire with just three original series regulars and bring the franchise’s overall total under double digits to nine.
Hopefully, we won’t have to say goodbye to any additional original cast members this fall, but it’s clear you never know when someone might exit the franchise.
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