The important departure of the cast has left a big hole in the ranks of Firehouse 51. On Wednesday’s 200th episode, Jesse Spencer left the series when his character Matt Casey left the Windy City to care for the sons of his late best friend Andy Darden in Oregon.
The move will leave Truck 81 without a captain, and the question of who will take over that leadership position plays out “until the winter break,” showrunner Derek Haas told reporters at a Zoom press conference. (Read our inquest with Haas and Spencer about the actor’s departure here.)
“We are working on a big storyline” [about] who will be next to become the commander of Truck 81,” Haas said. “Obviously there are some shifting seats in the fire station.”
Stella, who passed the lieutenant exam last season, seems like a natural candidate to take on the job, but the fact that she’s currently in Boston helping launch a Girls on Fire program could pose a problem. to be. “The spot on Truck 81 may be open, and she hasn’t come back to claim it from the next episode, so that has its own issues and ramifications,” Haas gave an example.
At least one firefighter can be completely excluded from the promotion: “Herrmann is a locomotive lieutenant. I think that will continue,” Haas said.
With all the changes at 51, Haas wanted to add some stability by bringing Deputy District Chief Boden back to the fire station. (You can thank Boden’s assistant Kylie for discovering that his headquarters should actually be on his old stomping grounds.) “If Jesse [was] When we left, it felt like we needed someone to keep it from being so untethered,” Haas said. “As we mapped all these moves, one of them was Boden coming back.”
Casey’s departure will also have a major impact on his girlfriend and best friend. “We’re going to see some after-effects with Brett, of course,” Haas teased. “It’s going to be hard for Brett to go into a long-distance relationship and not know the rules of a long-distance relationship.”
“We’ve got Severide, of course, who looks at Casey’s quarters in the next episode and what that means to him,” Haas continued, “and then we play with everyone’s reactions” to Casey’s absence.
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.
