Is Taylor Kinney leaving Chicago Fire? Where is Severide at?

Is Taylor Kinney leaving Chicago Fire, and where in the world is Kelly Severide on tonight’s new season 12 episode?

First and foremost, let’s go ahead and tackle the second question first. At the end of last week’s installment, we saw the character choose to depart to work on another high-profile arson case. This is something that he felt he needed to do, and he departed this time with both Stella and Cruz’s blessing. After all, Cruz is going to be the person managing things with him away.

So what exactly does this absence mean when it comes to Kelly’s long-term future? Well, we wouldn’t look at it as proof that the character (or Kinney) is leaving the show. Instead, it may just be a part of the plan for both Chicago Fire and the entire franchise this season. Multiple characters have had absences here and there this season across One Chicago in what is a cost-cutting measure. In general Wolf Entertainment shows are well-known for not blowing their budgets, and this one in particular probably needs to keep some money aside for all the fire effects and action.

We do think it stinks to be potentially losing Kelly for a stretch, but we also believe that the franchise will do whatever it can to keep him for a good while. After all, remember for a moment that Kara Killmer is already departing later this season, and we have also seen the exit of Alberto Rosende already. For now, the best thing we can hope to have is a certain amount of cast stability. While we do think this show can weather a lot of storms, does it really have to?

In the end, our hope is just that we continue to get some sort of Severide updates during his time away — and that he continues to check in with his wife.

What do you want to see from Kelly Severide moving forward on Chicago Fire season 12?

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