Saying goodbye to a character is never easy, especially when that character has been in our lives for over a decade. Perhaps that’s why, even though we’ve known for months that his exit was coming, it still feels unreal that Joe Minoso’s time on Chicago Fire has come to an end.
In its 300th episode, Chicago Fire says goodbye to Joe Cruz, a character who has been part of the show’s DNA from the very first episode. Cruz has gone on quite a journey through the years and become an integral part of Firehouse 51. It’s hard to think of the show without him, but the writers have done a solid job of preparing fans for his departure.
Minoso’s exit was announced during the summer break, which gave fans the chance to begin processing his departure, rather than springing it on them. It was then announced that his exit would come a few episodes into the season rather than in the premiere, which ensured that the show would have more time to set up his exit storyline and build to his departure.
The season 15 premiere saw Cruz injured on the job in a storyline designed to set up his departure from the series, which finally came in the 300th episode. Rather than rushing through his final storyline, the show allowed Cruz's departure to feel like a significant moment for both the character and the people he's leaving behind at Firehouse 51. It was a fitting way to send off a character who has been such a big part of the series, even if the circumstances behind his exit might come as a surprise to some fans.
Why is Joe Minoso leaving Chicago Fire?
Unfortunately, it was not Joe Minoso’s decision to walk away from Chicago Fire. Like many of the biggest cast shakeups over in the One Chicago franchise, it was the writers who ultimately decided to write Minoso out of the show and bring his character’s journey to a natural end.
Much like the fans, Minoso was shocked when he first was informed that the show was writing him out and admitted that it was hard to realize that he would no longer be part of the show’s ensemble after over a decade playing Cruz.
“I remember I was sitting in the producers’ office and I was staring at all of the headshots in the room, and I just kept looking at my picture and recognizing that it would no longer be in the mix of the ensemble [with my exit],” Minoso told TV Insider. “And it was hard to hear at first, but at the same time, I really understood it. When you spend this much time, there are some firefighters that get maybe 20 years out of a career, and I’m five short of that. So I feel like I might as well have gone through the actual service.”
This is very common for long-running shows, as creative teams like to shake things up to keep things fresh, which sometimes results in original characters being written out. Sometimes these decisions are made as a result of feeling like a character has run their course on a show; other times the decision is fueled by production cost-cutting measures, and sometimes it’s a mix of both.
The good news is that the show does not kill Cruz off, and the door is very much left open for him to return down the line. In fact, Minoso will be returning later this season to make his directing debut on the show, and there is always a chance we’ll see Cruz appear again on-screen sometime down the line as well.
Add us as a preferred source on Google