‘Chicago Fire’ Showrunner Addresses Gabby’s Exit and the Impact on the Future of ‘Dawsey’

Chicago Fire showrunner Derek Haas recently addressed Gabby’s exit from the show, and opened up about the impact it will have on her relationship with Casey.

Fans were shocked when actress Monica Raymund revealed that she would be leaving the series, which came just days after her character, Gabby, had a huge fight with her husband Casey, who is played by Jesse Spencer. The couple has been dubbed “Dawsey” by fans.

Following the fight, Gabby began pursuing a volunteer EMT role in Puerto Rico. Haas shared that he believes “the same frustration and lack of understanding that I think our audience is going through, so is Casey.”

“It’s not going to be just one episode that he’s going to be dealing with the ramifications of her having taken this gig,” he added, according to TV Line.

Hass also explained that while this “is a big blow to the marriage,” divorce is not in the cards. At least, not for right now.

“A realistic thing happens sometimes when a partner in a marriage takes a long-distance job, and so then you have to deal with a new reality to your relationship. That’s what Casey’s dealing with,” Haas said. “We actually did a lot of research about the modern long-distance relationship, and how those are dealt with and/or overcome and/or fraught with danger.”

The new storyline was actually not planned on, and the writers had to “adjust” their plans. “I was definitely caught off-guard that [Raymund] was not going to come back. That’s not to say that she didn’t give us plenty of time, because she did. But in my head, that was all just end-of-year negotiating or whatever,” Haas revealed, later joking, “I didn’t think that she really wasn’t going to come back.”

After overcoming the initial surprise, Haas says that he is now really excited about the possibilities in front of them, in the event that “Dawsey” does split.

“Any time there’s a change in relationships for our characters, from a writing standpoint, it becomes exciting, because a slate gets wiped clean, and you get to come up with new stories and new ideas and generate new thoughts,” Haas went on to say, adding that, even with that being said, it’s still “a catch-22, because I liked them in a relationship, and I like exploring marriage and different facets of marriage, and things our viewers can relate to.”

Fans can see what the show has in store for the couple when Chicago Fire returns for its seventh season on Wednesday, September 26.