Fan-Favorite ‘Chicago Fire’ Star Takes Leave of Absence From NBC Drama

Firehouse 51 will be down one member as Chicago Fire star Taylor Kinney takes a break from the hit NBC drama. Deadline confirmed Friday that the actor, who has starred as Kelly Severide since the show’s debut back in 2012, is taking a leave of absence, though no further information was provided. At this time, neither Kinney nor a spokesperson for the show has addressed the actor’s absence.

Cast and crew members were reportedly notified of Kinney’s leave of absence Friday just before news broke, but further information was not currently available. A source close to production told both Deadline and Variety that Kinney “is on a leave of absence to deal with a personal matter.” Deadline suggested that “it is likely that future scripts will have to be rewritten to accommodate Kinney’s absence.”

Kinney’s leave of absence comes just months after he celebrated 10 years of Chicago Fire back in October. Reflecting on the past decade, Kinney told Today that he has since come to view the city of Chicago as his “home.” He added, “I’ve been here over a decade, and the city has been good to me. I’ve gotten to know it through my work: southside, north, westside. We’ve done scenes on the lake. The city has been good to me. I love this city.”

The latest minor cast shakeup follows a string of shakeups for the larger One Chicago franchise. In October, it was confirmed that Brian Tee, one of the remaining original Chicago Med stars on the show who portrays Dr. Ethan Choi, would be leaving the medical drama after eight seasons. Just a month later, Asjha Cooper appeared in her final episode of Chicago Med, the series on which she portrayed Vanessa Taylor since Season 6. That same month, it was confirmed that Chicago Fire co-creator Derek Haas, who has served as showrunner for all 11 seasons of the series and also on CBS’ FBI: International, would be leaving Wolf Entertainment at the end of Season 11.

Chicago Fire is currently in its 11th season. The hit series the firefighters, rescue squad and paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51. Along with Kinney, Chicago Fire stars Eamonn Walker, Christian Stolte, Joe Minoso, Randy Flagler, David Eigenberg, Anthony Ferrari, Daniel Kyri, Hanako Greensmith, and Alberto Rosende. New episodes of Chicago Fire air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.