Taylor Kinney Makes a Triumphant Comeback in Season 12 of ‘Chicago Fire’

Taylor Kinney. Art Streiber/NBC

Chicago Fire fans can rest easy, as Taylor Kinney will be making his return to Firehouse 51 in the upcoming season. We can confirm that Kinney, who is 42 years old, will be back for the start of season 12 of the NBC series. However, it is still uncertain whether he will be a series regular or how frequently he will be featured this season, as reported by TVLine.

The actor, Kinney, began portraying Lieutenant Kelly Severide in 2012 when Chicago Fire first aired. After 11 seasons, he took a temporary "leave of absence" from the role in January.

During the filming of season 11, news of Kinney's unexpected departure emerged. A source involved in the production informed Us at the time that he was leaving to attend to a personal issue. Deadline reported that the cast and crew were apparently informed about Kinney's temporary departure on the same day the news became public.

Kinney's final episode of season 11 aired in February. In a March episode, viewers discovered that Severide traveled to Alabama to assist in an arson investigation training program, providing an explanation for his character's absence.

Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC

During the May season finale, Severide's wife, Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), made a surprising announcement. She revealed her plans to bring her husband back to Chicago. In addition to providing brief updates on Severide, NBC delighted fans by welcoming back former Chicago Fire star Jesse Spencer for two episodes. Despite his own departure from the show in 2021, Spencer, 44, reprised his role as Captain Matt Casey, bringing joy to viewers who were eagerly anticipating the return of Kinney's Severide. After portraying Casey on the NBC drama from 2012 to 2021, Spencer bid farewell to the series after its 200th episode in October of that same year.

The Australian actor made a cameo appearance on the season 10 finale of Chicago Fire in May 2022. In this episode, Casey was Severide's best man at his wedding to Kidd. Throughout season 11, Casey's relationship with paramedic Sylvie Brett was left uncertain. However, his return for the season 11 finale, during Kinney's absence, caused a lot of excitement.

During the finale, Casey surprised viewers and the characters by proposing to Brett. However, Brett's response was not revealed before the credits rolled. Although Chicago Fire was scheduled to return for season 12 in the fall of 2023, the date had to be postponed due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

The WGA strike ended in September after five months of picketing. The union reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP, but the SAG-AFTRA is still on strike. Filming for Chicago Fire and other crime shows by Dick Wolf can only resume once SAG-AFTRA agrees with the AMPTP.

NBC is not commenting on Kinney’s return or future with the show at this time.