As of October 5, 2026, 15 former regulars are covered in TV Insider’s 2025 retrospective, and two more departures have been announced for Season 15 but have not yet aired. The list below pairs each performer with the character, the season and story context where established, and what is known—or not known—about the actor’s own reason for leaving.
Completed departures through Season 14
TV Insider’s July 2025 overview counted 15 former regulars through the departures it covered. Later reporting adds Season 14 details for Daniel Kyri and Jake Lockett. A character’s on-screen fate is not necessarily the actor’s reason for leaving.
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| Actor and character | When and what happened in the story | Actor-level reason or status |
|---|---|---|
| Teri Reeves as Hallie Thomas | Season 1: Hallie was murdered. | No personal reason for Reeves’s departure is established in the cited overview. |
| Lauren German as Leslie Shay | Season 3 premiere: Shay died after an explosion. | No personal reason for German’s departure is established in the cited overview. |
| Charlie Barnett as Peter Mills | Mills left Chicago to help with his family’s restaurant. | The overview does not establish a separate actor-level reason. |
| Dora Madison as Jessica “Chili” Chilton | Chili’s storyline involved an alcoholism relapse. | The relapse is the character’s story, not a confirmed personal reason for Madison’s exit. |
| Steven R. McQueen as Jimmy Borrelli | An explosion partially blinded Borrelli and ended his firefighting career. | The cited overview does not establish a separate actor-level explanation. |
| Monica Raymund as Gabriela Dawson | After Season 6, Dawson left for relief work in Puerto Rico. | Raymund said she was ready to move on to another chapter of life. She later returned as a guest star. |
| Yuriy Sardarov as Brian “Otis” Zvonecek | Season 8: Otis died after a mattress factory explosion. | Sardarov told TV Insider that leaving was his decision. |
| Annie Ilonzeh as Emily Foster | Foster reapplied to medical school. | The reason Ilonzeh left is unclear in the cited overview. |
| Adriyan Rae as Gianna Mackey | Season 9: Mackey transferred to another firehouse after nine episodes. | Her departure was reported as being for “private reasons”; no further details are established. |
| Jesse Spencer as Matthew Casey | Season 10: Casey moved to Oregon to care for his late best friend’s children. | Spencer also cited future plans and family responsibilities. |
| Eamonn Walker as Wallace Boden | Season 12: Boden became CFD deputy commissioner, ending his full-time status. | The reason for Walker’s departure was not clear in the cited overview. He has returned as a guest. |
| Kara Killmer as Sylvie Brett | Season 12: Brett followed Casey to Oregon after they married. | Killmer described Brett’s departure as a natural conclusion. |
| Alberto Rosende as Blake Gallo | Season 12 premiere: Gallo moved to Michigan to live with his aunt. | Rosende said ending his time on the show was his decision. |
| Daniel Kyri as Darren Ritter | Season 14: Ritter moved to New York to be with his boyfriend. Kyri did not return as a series regular. | TV Insider reported that cost-cutting was believed to be a factor; that was reporting, not an official explanation. |
| Jake Lockett as Sam Carver | Carver’s exit was initiated in the Season 13 finale and took place off-screen before Season 14. The story framed his departure as leaving the CFD for a fresh start. | Lockett later returned for a guest appearance. The cited coverage does not establish a separate personal reason for the exit. |
Season 15 departures announced but not yet aired
Season 15 had not premiered as of October 5, 2026; its reported premiere date was October 7. These are announced departures, not completed on-screen exits, so their story resolutions should not be assumed.
- Joe Miñoso as Joe Cruz: TheWrap reported that Miñoso was expected to leave, with appearances in multiple episodes to close Cruz’s story. The report did not specify the full timing or how the character’s story resolves.
- Dermot Mulroney as Chief Dom Pascal: TheWrap reported that Pascal’s storyline was expected to wrap early in Season 15. NBC declined to comment on Mulroney’s exit, according to the report.
Why the cast changes
In a January 2024 TVLine interview, showrunner Andrea Newman described turnover as part of both storytelling and the long run of the series: “Honestly, longevity is really just part of it.” She said, “[In] storytelling and in terms of real life, 12 years is a long time and things need to change, just dynamic-wise. You want new characters and you want new dynamics.” She also noted that a 12-year television run is longer than actors generally expect.
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- Chicago Fire (Complete Series 1-11) - 62-DVD Box Set
- Chicago Fire (Complete Series 1-11) - 62-DVD Box Set
TVLine also quoted NBC executive Bader saying cast changes help keep the Chicago shows fresh and that NBC was pleased with their performance. The article said Chicago Fire ranked third among broadcast TV’s ten most-watched dramas in the prior season; it did not provide an audience figure.
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