Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 8, was missing Kelly Severide.
Long-time star Taylor Kinney wasn’t in the episode, raising concerns among fans about why he was gone.
The great news is that Severide will return. There’s no need to bury the lead on that fact.
Kinney remains the star of the Chicago Fire cast and will be featured in many more episodes this winter and spring.
With so many recent departures from the Chicago Fire cast, it’s understandable why fans might get worried.
Some big exits have been seen in recent seasons, including Firefighter Matthew Casey (played by Jesse Spencer), Paramedic Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer), and Firefighter Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende).
Chicago Fire fans were also shocked when Chief Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker) said goodbye during the Season 12 finale.
Why was Kelly Severide absent from the Chicago Fire fall finale?
Early in Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 8, a brief explanation was given for Kelly Severide’s absence.
“Severide’s got some fire inspection boondoggle in Michigan,” Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) mentioned to Tony (Anthony Ferraris) and Capp (Randy Flagler).
Paramedic-in-charge Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) asked Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) about Michigan and Severide later in the episode.
Kidd told her Severide was doing “good” in Michigan before she said, “He’s decided to come back a little early, which, of course, I’m happy about.”
The brief character exchanges gave answers about Severide’s whereabouts and hinted he would be back for the next episode. But first, the winter hiatus has hit.
We will see Severide again this winter, and he has been on set to film the big One Chicago crossover.
Why are stars like Taylor Kinney missing Chicago Fire episodes?
The One Chicago shows have planned absences for their stars. The production company reduced the number of episodes for the primary actors and actresses.
As a way to cut overall production costs, the stars won’t appear in every episode of a given season. This allows the production company to continue paying them the same rate per episode but saves money by limiting their total appearances.
While it can be frustrating for a character (or two) to vanish for a week (or two), medical, fire, and police shows like these have ways to write around it. Characters can work on cases, get training, go on vacation, or visit family.
It’s not ideal, but it prolongs the shows and keeps more primary characters attached to Med, Fire, and P.D.
More news from the world of One Chicago
Here’s the upcoming Chicago Fire episode schedule. It includes an episode airing at a special time when the show returns in 2025.
January 29 is the One Chicago crossover event. The three casts will intermingle all night, creating an exciting story.
Chicago Med spoilers were recently revealed on social media. It provides answers about what’s coming up later this season.
Previous episodes of Chicago Fire are streaming on Peacock. So far, NBC has debuted the first eight episodes from Season 13.
Chicago Fire airs Wednesday at 9/8c on NBC.