'Chicago Fire': Taylor Kinney Returning for Season 12

Lieutenant Kelly Severide is returning to Firehouse 51! According to Entertainment Tonight, multiple reports are stating that Taylor Kinney is set to come back to Chicago Fire for Season 12 following his sudden departure in the middle of Season 11. Kinney abruptly left the NBC drama in January to deal with a personal matter, but no other details were released. The series had to take an unscheduled brief break so scripts could be rewritten. It was later revealed that Severide got an opportunity to go to an arson investigation training program.

Chicago Fire was among the many Dick Wolf series to get back into production after the WGA strike came to an end. The first scripts for Season 12 reportedly feature Severide, but it's unknown if he is permanently back on the show or if it's just temporary. The actor has been out of the public eye for much of the last several months since initially temporarily departing. However, his coming back, at least for the beginning of the season, is very good news. Fans were likely disappointed that he didn't come back for the Season 11 finale. So, at least it seems they will be getting him back once again.

Taylor Kinney has been portraying Kelly Severide since the pilot episode of Chicago Fire. He's also appeared in the other One Chicago series, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. It's still going to be a while until Kinney comes back since the SAG-AFTRA strike is still going on. Since Season 11 ended with Casey asking Brett to marry him, there's a good chance Jesse Spencer will be coming back for an episode or two, as well. So fans should be able to look forward to a classic cigar chat between Severide and Casey sometime in the near future.

Hopefully, Kinney's return lasts a long time, but no matter how long it's for, it is definitely better than nothing. Considering it's also been hard to see Miranda Rae Mayo's Stella Kidd go without her husband, that reunion will be one for the books. The wait for Chicago Fire Season 12 will surely be worth it now, knowing that Kinney will be coming back. Since it's unknown when the series could return, fans can always rewatch the first 11 seasons on Peacock to prepare for the new episodes. There is a lot happening for Season 12, and it's only just a matter of time before it's finally here.