Change is in the air once again in Chicago. As we celebrate the arrival of Chicago Fire season 15, our celebration is a bittersweet one as the arrival of the new season marks the beginning of the end for one original cast member.
One of the most surprising announcements to occur during the One Chicago shows’ annual summer hiatus was the news that Joe Minoso would be exiting Chicago Fire after 15 seasons as a series regular. The news shocked the One Chicago fandom, and understandably so, as Minoso has been a part of the Chicago Fire ensemble from the very beginning. Not only was he there from the start, originating the role of Joe Cruz in the series premiere of Chicago Fire way back in 2012, but he was one of only a small handful of original actors from the season 1 cast still on the show.
Minoso’s exit marks a major turning point for Chicago Fire, and his departure will bring a lot of change ot just at Firehouse 51 but throughout the show’s overall dynamics, as Cruz has long been at the forefront of some of the show’s biggest storylines. His exit brings about a real end of an era for the show, but thankfully fans have a bit of time before they have to say goodbye to Cruz.
When is Joe Minoso leaving Chicago Fire?
While many cast exits tend to occur off-screen or in the season premieres, Joe Minoso will not be exiting Chicago Fire right away. Although he is leaving the show, he will stick around for a few episodes before his departure from the show actually occurs.
When word first broke that Minoso was exiting, reports suggested that he would be returning for a handful of episodes at the beginning of the season designed to give Cruz a proper sendoff. No exact episode count was announced, but all signs point toward Minoso exiting the show in the 300th episode of Chicago Fire, which will air as the fifth episode of season 15.
Assuming there will be no breaks in the schedule once Chicago Fire season 15 begins, this means that Minoso’s final episode should air on Wednesday, November 4.
While we wish Minoso would stick around for an even more extended run, five episodes is definitely plenty of time for the show to give Cruz a proper exit storyline. It’s also more episodes than other departing characters have been given to wrap up their storylines. For example, it was just last year when Daniel Kyri exited the show following an appearance in only two episodes, resulting in what felt like a very rushed sendoff for the longtime member of the cast.
Hopefully, the writers will really make the most of those final episodes for Minoso in order to craft an exit storyline that gives the character a strong sendoff!
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock.
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