Chicago Fire star Daniel Kyri has been promoted to a regular for the next season of the NBC show.
The actor has played the role of firefighter Darren Ritter since season seven of the series, appearing in nearly every episode since.
However, he’s now earned a more prominent spot in season nine, with co-creator/executive producer Derek Haas saying he was “very excited” about Kyri’s new role (via Deadline).
“Ritter has become a big part of Firehouse 51, and Daniel plays him with a sincerity and depth that always makes the room excited to write for him. Expect to see some big Ritter action in Season 9,” he added.
The last season of Chicago Fire saw Ritter come out, with Kyri speaking at the time about having a prominent openly Black queer character on a cable network show.
“You go into something like this and try not to have expectations,” the actor told People’s World last year. “Watching the scene felt personal because it felt like I was the one coming out to the world on national television.”
He also compared it to his own experience as an openly queer Black man, adding: “I’m not playing myself; Darren does a bazillion things I would never do, so when this became part of the story I became protective, especially since my own experiences have not always been so glamorous.”
Meanwhile, last year star Monica Raymund left the series as Gabriela Dawson, after six seasons as a regular cast member and two as a guest star.
However, she recently admitted that “there’s always an open door” for a possible return, revealing: “I think it’s an open-ended question, if the conversations happen.”
Chicago Fire airs on NBC in the US and on Sky Witness, Universal and 5USA in the UK.
