Showrunner Andrea Newman explains why Kelly Severide hasn’t been promoted in Chicago Fire. Taylor Kinney is arguably the face of Dick Wolf’s One Chicago franchise, considering how long he has been in the universe, not to mention how prominent his character is in Firehouse 51. For years, Severide’s personal and professional arcs have been at the forefront of the first-responder procedural’s storytelling and are expected to continue as Chicago Fire season 13 enters production. Despite how vital he is in the show, there’s one particular character development that he hasn’t experienced.
Ahead of Chicago Fire season 13, Newman explains to TVLine why Severide hasn’t been promoted after all these years. Following more than a decade on Firehouse 51, he remains Squad 3’s lieutenant, with seemingly no plans to move on from the said role. As it turns out, this is because of the character’s personal preference. Read Newman’s full quote below:
“He’s got his focus on the thing he is obsessed with, which is arson and OFI, in addition to squad, which he loves. There’s a lot of politics the higher you go up in rank, and Severide has no interest in that. He’s a get-your-hands-dirty kind of guy. So arson is still very much on the forefront of his mind, the possibilities of moving to OFI are at the forefront of his mind, and all of that comes up. He’s dealing with all of that this season.”
