Chicago Fire showrunner Andrea Newman opens up about how Blake Gallo’s exit during the season 12 premiere will impact Violet Mikami and Darren Ritter going forward. The first episode of the new season revealed Gallo was leaving the city and moving to Michigan with his aunt. He returns to Firehouse 51 for a brief farewell, and his final scene closes the door on his story.
Speaking with Looper, Newman explains that Gallo leaving will have an impact on his close friends, Violet and Ritter, throughout Chicago Fire season 12. The showrunner mentions how important the small group has become in recent seasons, detailing the difficulty of someone leaving both on and off camera. Check out what Newman had to say below:
The goodbye is hard for everybody, but it’s especially difficult for Ritter and Violet. That trio has become such a center point of the show, and they’re so close. They’ll be leaning on each other a lot more; Violet will be leaning on Brett a lot more. But that goodbye is a special moment for the three of them in particular, and the three actors were really close too. That day on set when we shot that goodbye was very emotional. There were a lot of real tears.
