Taylor Kinney took a leave of absence from Chicago Fire after the show’s 11th season. Now that the 11th season of the series has finished, fans of the show are wondering if he is returning for the 12th season or not.
Will Taylor return as Lieutenant Kelly Severide? Or is Kelly going to take time to discover more things on his own? Today, we bring you hot news about your favorite Lieutenant.
Taylor Kinney’s Return to Chicago Fire Is Still in Doubt
The fans of the Chicago Fire have been patiently waiting for an answer; however, Taylor Kinney’s return as Lieutenant Kelly Severide has still not been answered. The fire started in the Chicago fire fans when it was announced in January 2023 that Taylor would be taking a leave of absence.
It’s worth noting that his absence from the show is due to a personal issue, so until and unless that issue has been resolved, he will not come back.
Where is Taylor now?
Taylor is enjoying his personal time with his girlfriend, Ashley Cruger. He has been rarely seen on his Instagram, and the last time he posted was on December 6, 2022. However, Taylor recently made an appearance on his girlfriend’s Instagram on August 21, 2023.
Additionally, the reason for his absence is said to be his wanting to take time for himself. But some people also believe that it could be that the Chicago Fire Station star is taking part in the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike.
What is the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike?
WGA Strike is the 2023 Writers Guild of America Strike began on May 2, 2023. The strike has been done due to low payment and writers being replaced with generative AI.
The writers are still on strike, and it is said that Kinney is also part of the strike.
Chicago Fire Rewrote the Script After Kinney’s Leave
Everyone is wondering if Taylor Kinney will get replaced on the show. Since his co-actors and the crew were only informed later on about his absence, the scripts had to be rewritten. The show has done a marvelous job of hiding his absence.
Chicago Fire addressed his absence on Wednesday’s season 11 episode titled “Damage Control”. In the show, Lieutenant Severside was sent to the “Arson Investigation Program” in Alabama.
When can we see Chicago Fire back on air?
Sadly, due to the ongoing strike of WGA and SAG-AFTRA, the production of Chicago Fire has come to a halt. The One Chicago show franchise is also not included in NBC’s fall schedule. In addition, it is more likely that we can see the Chicago Fire’s upcoming season arrive in 2024.
LaRoyce Hawkins, while speaking in an acting masterclass lecture at Louisiana State University, confirmed that the season has been halted due to the ongoing writers’ strike.
He said, “Naturally, after the writer strikes, it’s going to take the writer a while to start warming up their rooms again and starting to conceptualize stories again,” he said. “So we might need like a three-week buffer”.
