While Chicago Fire has yet to be renewed for a season 14, two of it’s main stars Daniel Kyri and Jake Lockett are not set to return.
On Wednesday, April 16, Deadline reported that Kyri, 30, and Lockett, 40, are planning to leave the long-running series due to possible budget cuts. The outlet noted that several Chicago Fire regulars contracts are up, which hints at the possibility of more exits.
Kyri has played firefighter Darren Ritter in the NBC drama since 2018 while Lockett has portrayed firefighter Sam Carver since 2022.
While Kyri and Lockett are not expected to return for season 14, sources close to production told Deadline that Kyri and Ritter “may still get proper endings for their characters” as season 13 is still airing.
Kyri took to social media to confirm his upcoming departure from the series after seven years.
“I’ll miss this character, and it’s time to move on,” he wrote via his Instagram Story on Wednesday. “Thank you to the cast, crew, & the awesome fans.”
Lockett has yet to comment on the news.
Chicago Fire, which has been airing on NBC since 2012, is currently in its 13th season and follows the professional and personal lives of the Chicago Fire Department at the fictional Firehouse 51. The series currently stars Kyri, Lockett, Taylor Kinney, David Eigenberg, Joe Miñoso, Christian Stolte, Miranda Rae Mayo, Hanako Greensmith, Jocelyn Hudon and Dermot Mulroney.
The NBC show recently made headlines when news broke that Eamonn Walker would be returning as Wallace Boden in season 13, despite exiting Chicago Fire in May 2024 after 12 seasons.
“[We are] so excited to have our beloved Chief Boden back, and the episode, titled Post-Mortem, is a thrill ride unlike any we’ve done before,” showrunner Andrea Newman teased in a March press release. “Told with flashbacks and unique POVs, Chief Boden leads our team on a search to discover the how, who, and why of a fierce firefight that ended in disaster.”
Walker, 62, shared that “it was not easy” coming back to the show again as a guest star in a single episode which aired on Wednesday, April 16.
“So the first week out, I had this [thought], ‘How do I get Boden’s voice back?’” Walker, who is British, explained to Collider in an interview published on Monday, April 14. “So I called up Tanera Marshall, who is my voice coach in Chicago, and I was like, ‘I need three days with you to get Boden’s voice back. I can work on the physicality later, but let’s get his voice back. That’ll be the start of the journey.”
The actor shared that it was “amazing” to work with Marshall again and put Boden’s costumes back on.
“It was fantastic to be back with the people I love and who love me back, and the welcoming was amazing,” he gushed to the outlet. “They have a very, very special place in my heart.”
