As Chicago Fire fans, we unfortunately have to get used to characters leaving the show and sometimes — if we're lucky — coming back to Firehouse 51 for a visit. There's a long list of characters have left the show, but an even shorter list of characters who have returned. Luckily, in a bittersweet way, season 14 featured both returns and exits.
Over the years, the Chicago Fire cast has shifted for various reasons. Whether certain cast members wanted to leave the show, budget cuts caused unfortunate partings, or beloved fan-favorites were killed off to great frustration, the revolving door on a long-running procedural drama series is rather unavoidable and will continue to be for as long as the show remains on the air.
Before we dive into Chicago Fire season 15 this fall and find out who could be leaving the show after the Firehouse 51 team's dangerous call left almost the whole squad's fate on the line, let's take a look back at the major characters who left the show in season 14 and also the characters who returned!
Chicago Fire season 14 character exits and returns
When all of us fans were celebrating the Chicago Fire season 14 renewal last year, we also had to grapple with the bad news that two main characters and a major recurring character were leaving the show. Due to budget cuts, both Jake Lockett and Daniel Kyri were announced to be leaving the show as series regulars, forcing us to say goodbye to Carver and Ritter right off the bat.
Ritter's official exit from the series happened two episodes into season 14, though Carver's exit happened offscreen as he didn't return to wrap up his storylines. However, here's our first actual character return. Sadly, Kyri didn't reprise his role as Ritter after being written out in episode 2, but Lockett made a surprise appearance as Carver in episode 11 to get closure with Violet.
The other major character exit in Chicago Fire season 14 was Michael Bradway as Severide's younger half-brother Jack Damon. Bradway made his first appearance as the character in season 12 and maintained a recurring role in season 13. However, due to the actor's scheduling conflicts with his role in the Prime Video series Every Year After (which debuts June 10), he left the show.
Bradway didn't appear in season 14, but because his role is recurring and Chicago Fire loves a surprise reunion, the door is surely always open for Damon to drop by Firehouse 51. KaDee Strickland, who also recurred in season 13 as Dom Pascal's (Dermot Mulroney) wife Monica, didn't return in season 14, likely because the character was killed off in the previous season.
Speaking of Pascal, we could also mention that Mulroney briefly left season 14 for a few episodes due to his scheduling conflicts with filming the second season of Netflix's hit drama series The Hunting Wives. The actor's role in the show moving forward is unclear, especially after Mulroney recently opened up about the fact that season 3 is in the works and expected to film this fall.
While we could highlight a few other exits and returns, like that of Isaiah, these are the major character exits that directly impacted Chicago Fire season 14 before it began and moving forward in to season 15. There haven't been any other confirmed exits going into next season, but Taylor Kinney and Miranda Rae Mayo are locked in to once again reprise their roles.
Add us as a preferred source on Google