It seems a new first responder is about to join the ranks of Firehouse 51 in the forthcoming new season of Chicago Fire.
As first reported by Variety, Chicago Fire has cast Brandon Larracuente in a new series regular role for season 14. Interestingly, little is known about exactly who Larracuente will be playing, with no character information provided at this time, but we have to imagine he’ll be playing a new firefighter at 51.
News of Larracuente’s casting comes as Chicago Fire prepares to bid farewell to two series regulars. Ahead of the season 13 finale, word broke that Daniel Kyri and Jake Lockett would not be returning for season 14, exiting the show after seven and three seasons, respectively, playing Darren Ritter and Sam Carver. It has not yet been confirmed whether either actor will return in any capacity for season 14, or whether their exits will be handled off-camera.
With 51 set to lose both Carver and Ritter, it’s only natural that a few new firefighters make their way to the firehouse, and it seems highly likely Larracuente will be replacing one of the two characters. What will be interesting is seeing exactly how Larracuente’s character is brought into the fold and just how quickly we’ll meet his Chicago Fire character.
Given we’re about to lose the show’s sole series regular LGBTQ+ character with the exit of Ritter, we’d love to see Larracuente’s Chicago Fire character fill this void and maintain some representation on the show. We can only hope that if the writers go that route, they'll give Larracuente's character more love than they showed Ritter over the years.
While Larracuente might be new to the One Chicago franchise, he’s no stranger to working with the Wolf Entertainment team. Larracuente is fresh off a role in Wolf Entertainment’s On Call procedural, which ran for one season on Prime Video. Clearly, the team at Wolf Entertainment enjoyed working with Larracuente and wanted to find a way to keep him in the family, which is a common practice for the studio that has re-teamed with many of its stars over the years.
Filming on Chicago Fire season 14 is expected to begin in July, so we should have our first look at Larracuente’s character in the coming weeks. It’s also possible we could see additional casting updates coming as the One Chicago shows prepare to begin filming, so be sure to check back at One Chicago Center for the latest updates on Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD!