‘Chicago Fire’ Boss Talks Taylor Kinney’s Return & Kara Killmer’s Exit, Reveals How Often They’ll Both Appear in Season 12

The Chicago Fire showrunner is dishing on the hit NBC show’s upcoming 12th season!

Most notably, showrunner and executive producer Andrea Newman commented on the return of Taylor Kinney and his character Kelly Severide, as well as the upcoming exit of longtime star Kara Killmer, who plays Sylvie Brett.

If you recall, Taylor took a leave of absence in season 11, and Kara will be leaving the show after season 12.

In a new interview with Variety, the showrunner revealed how often each of the above stars will be appearing in the new, shortened season.

“Having Taylor back was a thrill for everybody, and he was as jazzed as can be. The energy levels were through the roof,” Andrea shared of Taylor‘s return.

When asked if Taylor will be back full-time this season, she commented, “He’s back, is what I’ll say. It’s a shortened season, but he’s back and Severide’s centerstage in this season.”

Teasing Severide’s relationship with Stella Kidd after his return, Andrea noted, “There’s a whole new dynamic between them. The heat and the sexual tension are as high as ever. They can’t keep their hands off each other, as usual, and yet, there’s this new dynamic that is present between them, something we haven’t seen before.”

“There’s an edge in the air between them but the main case OFI case, which is the big case that Severide’s been dealing with, is going to bring up a lot of tension between them and explore what’s been happening these last six months and what they’ve been going through.”

As for Kara, Andrea did not specify just how many episodes she will be in, but she will be in most of the season!

“I’ll say that we have a shortened season and she’s in a chunk of this season. She’s got a journey of her own to take before we let her go,” she said.

Also leaving the show at the start of the season is Alberto Rosende, who plays Blake Gallo.

“We love Alberto so much. We love that character so much, and he had such a strong season last season. There was something that almost felt like the Super Bowl about it, like the quarterback who retires after a Super Bowl — not that he’s retiring from the business, but his leaving makes some sense because he had such a strong season and as a character, has evolved so much,” Andrea dished. “We definitely lean into that and Gallo has very specific reasons for leaving when he does. It’ll affect everybody and from a writing standpoint, it’s sad not to have Gallo to write for, but like I said, it felt natural in some strange way. He will be very missed by all.”

If you missed it, get the scoop on the new and returning cast for Chicago Fire‘s 12th season!

Chicago Fire returns on Wednesday, January 17th.