Over the last few years, Chicago Fire has had a higher turnover than a fast food joint.
It seems like every season, a fan-favorite character is departing the show and being replaced faster than they can leave.
There has been a lot of spinning and positive twisting from creatives and suits associated with the show as they focus on the positive side of these departures and explain the rationale behind them.
But we would be kidding ourselves if we said that it’s all flowers and sunshine for a firehouse that preaches family values and experiences departures every few months.
Chicago Fire is Switching Too Many Things Up
Daniel Kyri and Jake Lockett will be leaving Chicago Fire in Season 14, and a recent casting announcement by Variety reveals a replacement has been lined up.
On Call and 13 Reasons Why star Brandon Larracuente has been cast in an undisclosed role, but it is expected to be significant.
This seems like an attempt to replace Carver and Ritter, but the question becomes: why bother?
The reason behind both actors’ departure was that Chicago Fire wanted to cut production costs. However, isn’t it counterproductive to try to cut costs, only to add another series regular?
Wouldn’t it be easier to keep the ones you already have instead of crafting an entirely new character and trying to recreate the same storylines over and over again?
Having seen numerous people come to Firehouse 51 and leave, I can almost predict what this new character’s arc will be, at least in Season 14.
A lot of time will be spent trying to sell them the idea of how close-knit 51 is, and they can let their guard down there.
We already did that with Carver, and it was one of the best iterations of the storyline.
Carver has connected with many fans and has turned out to be one of the best people in the firehouse.
It would be beneficial for the narrative to keep him, instead of bringing in another generic firefighter.
The Writers Need to Do Better
Don’t get me started on Darren Ritter, who the writers have criminally underutilized.
Despite being a series regular, it has always felt like they have never known what to do with him.
I recall an interview opportunity with Kyri that came up, but I had to pass on it because there was nothing for us to discuss regarding the character.
I played out the interview in my head, and could see both of us becoming uncomfortable as we discussed all the ways the show had let him down over the years, while sharing entries on our wishlist that would never come true.
Losing Ritter would be an even bigger loss for Chicago Fire which does not have decent queer representation, let alone from an actual queer person of color.
This is not meant to be a criticism of Larracuente, who did a great job on On Call, and I’m sure he’ll excel in the role.
However, it feels like adding insult to injury after robbing viewers of good characters, however abused and misused some have been, only to replace them with someone else.
It’ll take a while before viewers connect with the new character, if we ever do. The worst part is that it is unnecessary to put us through this.
Open up in the comments section. Are you excited about this new character? Is Chicago Fire hurting itself with these departures?
Let’s talk about it.
It’s like screaming into a five-alarm blaze sometimes — but if you’re feeling the flames too, yell with me.
Drop a comment, share with your fellow Firehouse 51 fans, and send some good vibes our way. Every bit helps keep this engine running. Thanks for riding it out with me. 🔥
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