Chicago Fire, now in its 13th season, is one of NBC’s most popular shows. The One Chicago franchise is also Wolf Entertainment’s strongest franchise when it comes to characters crossing from one show to another, and whether it’s a short appearance, like when Mouch (Christian Stolte) showed up on Chicago Med’s Season 10, Episode 15, “Down in a Hole,” or a full three-show crossover — the most recent one was Episode 11 of each show’s current season, named “In the Trenches: Part I, Part II, and Part III” — the franchise proves it is leaps and bounds above Wolf Entertainment’s other franchises on this aspect time and time again.
Despite all of Chicago Fire’s strong characters and storylines, it is also no stranger to cast turnover. It seems like every season, someone new is starting or someone important is leaving, and Season 13 has been no exception. At the end of Chicago Fire’s Season 13, Episode 16, “In the Rubble,” Chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) filled a space at Firehouse 51 that had been open for a long time. It may have taken a little persuading from Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney), but either way, the episode ends with Pascal hiring Jack Damon (Michael Bradway), Severide’s half-brother, to fill an open spot on the Engine. While fans of Damon are excited to see him back at 51, his full-time position means that fan-favorite Kylie Estevez might never be seen again.
Who is Kylie Estevez?
In Season 8 of Chicago Fire, Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) starts Girls on Fire, a program she designed to recruit more women to the Chicago Fire Department. While trying to recruit for the program in Season 8, Episode 18, “I’ll Cover You,” Stella met Kylie Estevez (Katelynn Shennett), a high school student who wasn’t just interested in the program, she was so sold on it by Kidd that she brought friends with her to the first class, and quickly became one of Kidd’s star students.
After she showed up to classes in Season 8, Episode 20, “51’s Original Bell,” Stella found out where she worked and tried to talk to her about coming back to class, only to learn that Kylie needed to take on a job to help support her family. In Season 9, Episode 2, “That Kind of Heat,” after Chief Boden was obviously struggling to handle administrative duties during the pandemic, Stella suggested they bring Kylie on so that she could help fill the gap and continue to participate in Girls on Fire at the same time. From that point on, Kylie became a member of the Firehouse 51 family.
Kylie remained at the Firehouse as she finished high school, and through studying to take the firefighter’s exam. She built a close friendship with Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri), and the entire firehouse was there to support her as she prepared for her exam. Although Kidd wanted Kylie to join Firehouse 51 as a probie, Kylie decided that she wanted a different experience and joined another firehouse, but took on several opportunities to float to Firehouse 51.
At the beginning of Season 13, when Jack Damon initially left Firehouse 51 after a tough time working with both Kidd and Severide, Kidd tried to recruit Kylie to fill his position. Worried about living in the shadow of Lieutenant Kidd for her entire career, Kylie turns the position down, at least until Kidd and Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) offer her an alternative — to take a spot on the Engine, under Herrmann, while Ritter moves to the Truck. Kylie accepted the offer, and while it seemed like audiences might finally get to see Kylie at 51 again, she’s only been in three episodes in Season 13, and now her spot, which many fans didn’t realize was open, has been filled by Jack Damon.
Jack Damon Had a Rough Start in the CFD
When Jack Damon first arrived at Firehouse 51 in Season 12, Episode 10, “The Wrong Guy,” many viewers could immediately tell there was something he was hiding. Damon seemed to have something from his past that he was dealing with, just like Sam Carver (Jake Lockett), who was often dealing with his own past. That only became more apparent when Darren Ritter discovered Damon taking a suspicious phone call. He also seemed obsessed with Kelly Severide, and though it could maybe be seen as wanting to learn from one of CFD’s greats, it rubbed several of 51’s other firefighters the wrong way. It wasn’t until Season 12, Episode 13, “Never Say Goodbye,” that Severide and the audience learned who Damon really was — the half-brother Kelly never knew he had.
