Chicago Fire star Taylor Kinney took a ten-month break from this popular NBC show, but he’s finally ready for a comeback. Kinney confirmed he’ll return in the upcoming 12th season of the beloved firefighter drama as Lieutenant Kelly Severide.
Kinney took a leave of absence back in January to deal with a personal matter. Fans were hoping he’d return for the Season 11 finale, but despite rampant speculations about his possible return, fans’ hopes never came to fruition and they didn’t get to see him in the season finale.
Taylor Kinney has been the core member of the Chicago Fire cast since the show’s premiere in 2012 and became its sole lead following Jesse Spencer’s exit. He reprised this role in several other Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment dramas, including Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med, recurring on multiple episodes of both shows.
The return of Chicago Fire for its twelfth season was confirmed when the writers’ room opened in early October after the WGA strike came to an end. Andrea Newman, formerly co-showrunner alongside Derek Haas, will serve as the sole showrunner of the upcoming 12th season. The first batch of scripts for Season 12 will feature Taylor Kinney, but it’s still unclear in what capacity.
