‘Chicago Fire’ Boss Previews ‘New Dynamic’ Between Severide and Kidd for Season 12

With Taylor Kinney’s return to , challenges are abound for Stellaride. Kinney had to take an abrupt leave of absence during the 11th season of the NBC drama for personal reasons, and it was previously confirmed that he will coming back to Firehouse 51 for the upcoming 12th season. During Severide’s absence, which was explained by way of saying that he was off doing an arson training program, Stella was struggling without her husband. Now that he’s back, it won’t be so easy settling back into their old ways.

Showrunner Andrea Newman tells TVLine that an arson case Severide is dealing with for OFI is “going to trigger all this tension that’s been sitting between Kidd and Severide.” Season 12 will pick up six months after the events of the Season 11 finale so that tension has likely been building up for a while. It’s not going to get any easier for them, unfortunately.

“There’s a whole new dynamic between them,” Newman previewed. “It’s kind of obvious within, like, one second of the show starting. They still can’t keep their hands off each other. You can tell they’re still in love, but there’s this new edge to their relationship.” She also says the OFI investigation “is going to bring a lot to the fore, and we’ll get to explore what they’re going through and what the issues are coming off him taking off for ATF last season.”

Luckily, fans shouldn’t have to worry about Severide leaving again and causing even more tension between him and Stella. Newman assures that “Severide is definitely front and center this season.” Of course, that doesn’t mean that it will all be good, as it already sounds like Stellaride will have quite a bumpy ride this season, which will be shortened due to the strikes. Stella is also not the only 51 member that will have some complications with Severide’s return, and Newman shared that Cruz will also be affected. He took over as Lieutenant on Squad while Severide was away, and it might not be so easy to hand back the reins.

It’s going to be both exciting and nerve-wracking to see how Stellaride’s dynamic will change and how tense things really are between them and the rest of the firehouse now that Severide is back. Fans will just have to see how it all goes down when Chicago Fire this Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.