One of the things we know about Chicago Fire is that characters are never gone for good. Even when they’re killed off, they come up in conversation or through memorials. So, hearing that the Chicago Fire season 13 finale may not be the last time we actually see Ritter and Carver shouldn’t be all that surprising.
Showrunner Andrea Newman didn’t spill the beans on the way the two characters would leave the series when talking to TVLine, but she did point out that characters have left before and they have come back. If the write-off is during the summer hiatus, there is some hope that the two could pop by again. At least this hints that the two won’t be killed off suddenly!
“Our characters have always — and this is the luxury of 13 seasons — but a bunch of them have come and gone and come back. There’s still so much to be figured out with those two and those characters. We love the actors, we love the characters, and we want to give them some good, surprising moments and goodbyes, and then maybe hellos later down the line," Newman teased.
Just ahead of the Chicago Fire season 14 renewal coming through, fans learned the shocking news that Jake Lockett and Daniel Kyri wouldn’t return. As series regulars at least, and I think that’s the important thing to point out here. This could open the door for them to guest star as others have done before.
After Jesse Spencer left the series in season 10, he returned a few times so that the Casey/Brett romance could continue. Then Kara Kilmer left to be with Casey, bringing a beautiful end to their relationship on screen.
Just recently, Chief Boden returned to help with a situation. He left at the end of season 12 to take the promotion as Deputy Commissioner, and that’s the role he stepped back in as when there was a fire that led to a near-death experience for one of Firehouse 51’s own.
It turns out that the two exits that are coming in the Chicago Fire season 13 finale were not the choice of the show itself. A lot of times, these exits are creative ones. We can look at the likes of 911 and NCIS for how things go when it’s the choice of the series creators or writers. In this case, it was due to the network needing to cut the budget.
There’s no secret that the cost of production is rising, and the One Chicago shows have been hit by this a few times. Now the actors have guaranteed minimums when it comes to episode counts, and that means we see some of the characters missing now and then. That can only do so much for the budget, so one of the ways to cut the costs is to remove a couple of series regulars.
Newman shares that the writers love the characters and they could have kept the two around. So, this offers some hope that should the story allow and the actors be willing and available, we’ll see Ritter and Carver again in Chicago Fire.
Chicago Fire is available to stream on Peacock.