'Chicago Fire': Longtime Star Exits After 200th Episode

Chicago Fire just lost one of its most familiar faces. At the end of the show's 200th episode, which aired on Wednesday night, Jesse Spencer's Matthew Casey shared that he would be leaving Firehouse 51 in order to move to Oregon to look after the two sons of his late friend, Andy Darden. Of course, this means that Chicago Fire fans will also have to say goodbye to Spencer, who has starred on the show since its 2012 premiere. 

During a Zoom press conference with reporters, Spencer explained his decision to leave the series. According to the actor, the fact that he starred on House for eight seasons and went directly into starring on Chicago Fire for almost a decade took a toll. He explained that he wanted to leave Chicago Fire in order to focus on his family and other pursuits. 

"I realized I've been doing TV for a long time. I added it up, and I think this year is my 18th year of network television," Spencer said, per TV Line. "I called [showrunner] Derek [Haas] and broke him the news, said I thought it was time to leave the show, and he agreed that we should at least get Casey to 200 episodes. It was a difficult decision because I've loved the show from the start, but there are other things that I would like to do in the future, and there's some family that I need to take care of, and 18 years is a long time."

Even though Spencer is set to leave Chicago Fire, it might not be the last you've seen of him on the show. Both Spencer and series showrunner Derek Haas, who also participated in the Zoom press conference, said that there's a chance that you'll see Casey in the future. They mentioned that it's likely you'll hear from Casey especially in order to continue his romance with Brett (Kara Killmer). The House alum added, "There is the potential for me to come back. I still am in Chicago right now. I'm not running off to Los Angeles or anything, although I might escape for a little bit of the winter. My home here with my wife is in Chicago, and so I'm still going to be here, but I'm just stepping back for right now."