Fans of Chicago Fire should be worried about Taylor Kinney's Kelly Severide. As one of the original remaining characters in the One Chicago inaugural show, the character is the face of the series. Throughout Kinney's decade-long run as Firehouse 51's resident Rescue Squad 3 leader, he has gone through a lot both professionally and personally.
Coming into Chicago Fire season 11, Severide is arguably at his most stable. He has just married long-time girlfriend Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) after several back and forths. He's also doing well at work, with Chief Boden (Eammon Jacobs) essentially treating him as his right-hand man at Firehouse 51. Despite the season 10 finale cliffhanger which hinted that he would be in danger, it has already been confirmed that he will come out of it unscathed. Suffice to say, it's a cause for celebration for those who have been rooting for him for years, but it shouldn't be the case.
Instead, fans shouldn't be too comfortable with the idea of Severide continuing to live his best life in Chicago Fire. The recent news that Jesse Lee Soffer is leaving in the middle of Chicago PD season 10 is proof that no one is truly safe from these shows. Like Severide, Jay Halstead is deemed one of the faces of the police procedural being one of the remaining original cast members. Similarly, Halstead is also Hank Voight's (Jason Beghe) right-hand, with plans for the detective to take over the special unit in the future. If Chicago PD can lose someone as vital to its storytelling as Soffer has been, there's a chance that Chicago Fire can also see the departure of Kinney. This is especially the case if the first-responder series runs out of interesting personal stories to tell for the character after all these years. While it's unclear why Soffer’s Halstead is leaving Intelligence in Chicago PD, one shouldn't have to look far away to know that even long-time lead actors can decide to leave a project as Kinney's former co-star, Jesse Spencer just departed Chicago Fire in the middle of season 10 after playing Matthew Casey for almost a decade.
Will Chicago PD Survive Halstead’s Exit?
Aside from being an original Intelligence team member, Halstead is also the moral center of the show. Losing him will undoubtedly have massive repercussions on how Voight runs his team moving forward. That being said, the One Chicago police procedural isn't new to important cast members departing. Sophia Bush Chicago PD season 4 after Erin Lindsay took an FBI promotion that forced her to relocate. That's followed by Alvin Olinsky's (Elias Koteas) heartbreaking death in prison, and then Jon Seda's Antonio Dawson's decision to leave in Chicago PD season 6 to deal with his worsening substance abuse issues. Amidst all of this, Intelligence forged on, still relentlessly taking down bad guys in an effort to make Chicago safer. So, it's safe to say that it will do the same once Halstead is gone. Only time will tell how they will fare without him.
The reason for Soffer's Chicago PD exit is unknown. Both the actor and NBC have remained mum about the matter. Considering how Halstead is being set up to be Intelligence's next leader, not to mention his recent marriage, his departure could be his own decision. After all, it's possible that a decade of playing the same character could already start to feel boring. It isn't outside the realm of possibility that Kinney may also start to feel the same thing after being on Chicago Fire for so long. This means that, despite the significance of the role, Kelly Severide may not be immune from harm.
Chicago Fire season 11 and Chicago PD season 10 premiere on September 21 on NBC.