It’s about time. Some of our favorite Chicago Fire cast members are back together – and what they’re doing is downright adorable.
See the Chicago Fire reunion photo below (which hints at the return of a new character who fans think will threaten Stellaride’s relationship next season). More on that, below.
Chicago Fire is NBC’s hit firefighter drama series that follows the lives of firefighters, rescue personnel, and paramedics of the Chicago Fire Department’s fictional Firehouse 51. Produced by Dick Wolf’s production company, Chicago Fire premiered in 2012 and has inspired multiple spinoffs, including Chicago P.D., Chicago Med and the now-canceled Chicago Justice.
In previous years, the cast would be busy working on the next season of Chicago Fire. But the current actors’ and writers’ strikes are preventing that from happening. On July 13, 2023, the national board of the Hollywood actors’ union SAG-AFTRA approved to strike – two months after the WGA began their strike in May 2023. The actors’ union represents 160,000 television and movie actors. During the strike, members are not allowed to work union jobs, promote their respective films and shows, attend press junkets and premieres and more.
Now it looks like the cast is keeping busy in another way – snuggling with cute kittens! On August 22, 2023, Hanako Greensmith, who plays paramedic Violet Mikami on Chicago Fire, posted (now-expired) photos to her Instagram story of her co-stars playing with kittens, according to NBC Insider.
In the first photo, Jake Lockett (firefighter Sam Carver) is seen holding a fluffy cat in one arm while wearing sunglasses. The second pic showed Alberto Rosende (firefighter Blake Gallo) holding the same kitten in his arms. We also saw Daniel Kyri (firefighter and former candidate Darren Ritter) petting a black and white cat. How adorable is that?
Seeing all of the actors together again brings back memories from Season 11, especially seeing newcomer Carver and Violet. Some Chicago Fire fans believe Carver may have romantic feelings for Violet (and vice versa) – and the show has not shied away from that implication. After all, Violet did ask Wendy Seager (Andy Allo) if she and Carver were a thing after they were hooking up. This could be good for Violet, as she is still getting over the death of Hawkins (Jimmy Nicholas), but one person could be standing in their way: firefighter Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo).
It’s hard not to see the potential romance brewing between Carver and Kidd, whose husband Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) is off doing who-knows-what at an arson investigation. (Kinney took a leave of absence from the show in January 2023 and it’s unknown whether he’ll return next season.) With Severide gone, their marriage could be upended and Carver might be there for Kidd to heal the wounds. When she was distressed, she even called Carver for help rather than dialing her husband, signifying that there was a real connection there.
We’re going to have to wait until Chicago Fire Season 12 to get real answers and see if Carver returns to Chicago Fire to stir things up (we can argue that him hanging out with the cast is a good sign he’ll be back). NBC announced that the next season of Chicago Fire will air in 2024, instead of fall 2023, but you’ll be able to watch reruns of Chicago Fire instead.
When Season 12 does return, it could look slightly different than past seasons. For example, episodes could be cut short due to decreased production times. When the WGA went on strike from November 2007 to February 2008, shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Bones, Scrubs and Friday Night Lights all experienced episode cuts, according to Movie Web.
Strike leaders say that they’re in it for the long haul – so it’s likely that filming won’t resume for a while. (But we can still theorize about our Chicago Fire favorites in the meantime!)
Chicago Fire is available to stream on Peacock.Strike leaders say that they’re in it for the long haul – so it’s likely that filming won’t resume for a while. (But we can still theorize about our Chicago Fire favorites in the meantime!)
Chicago Fire is available to stream on Peacock.
