Change is once again about to strike the One Chicago franchise with the season’s conclusion marking the end of several beloved cast members’ time beloved cast members’ time with the franchise. While it’s not yet known whether Chicago Med and Chicago PD will be impacted with cast exits, heading into the Chicago Fire season 13 finale, it’s been revealed that the show will be losing at least two long-time members of its cast.
As first reported by Deadline, Daniel Kyri and Jake Lockett will both be exiting at the conclusion of the current season and will not be coming back as series regulars for season 14 – a formal renewal has not yet been announced, but reports suggest a renewal is forthcoming.
After news broke of their departures, Kyri was quick to break his silence on his unexpected departure. “I’ll miss this character and it’s time to move on. Thank you to the cast, crew and awesome fans,” he wrote on Instagram the night the news broke.
Surprisingly, while Lockett continued to promote the show and share behind-the-scenes photos and videos from set, he remained silent on his looming departure. It was starting to look as though he might wait to release an official statement until his final episode, but Lockett has finally addressed his departure from Chicago Fire via an emotional message shared on Instagram.
“While I don’t exactly know what the future looks like, I do know that it won’t be exactly what it was and I am going to miss the hell out of that. So much pride in this journey,” Lockett wrote.
“It’s been an honor bringing Sam to life and to every one of you, thank you for the love and support over the past three years. And most importantly, the people that I was on the ground with day and night… thank you for the family you are and times you have been and will be there for me. If you’re not in one of these clips, there will be more to follow. So many cherished memories,” he concluded in the emotional post, which was accompanied by a video stringing together clips from his time on the show.
Jake Lockett’s statement on leaving Chicago Fire suggests it wasn’t his decision to leave
What is most interesting about Jake Lockett’s statement about his forthcoming exit from Chicago Fire is that it seems to suggest this was not his decision. This is both not too surprising, but also makes his exit that much more disappointing.
Over the years, there have been many Chicago Fire exits with some dictated by creative decisions and others caused by actors’ desires to step away from the show to pursue other opportunities. At the end of the day, it’s always disappointing when a beloved actor leaves a show, but it’s definitely a little harder to digest when the decision was not due to an actor wanting to leave the show but rather caused by a creative decision, or worse, budget cuts.
Sadly, it is budget cuts that seem to be behind Wolf Entertainment’s decision not to bring both Lockett and Daniel Kyri back for season 14.
Lockett’s statement makes it clear that he’s not ready to leave the show, and it’s also evident that the writers were not directly looking to write the character out. Otherwise, why would they spend so much of the season giving Carver a major arc that has watched him facing his demons and taking steps to ensure his sobriety, while also paving the way for a reunion with Violet – a moment fans have been waiting for since the show decided to unexpectedly break the pair up after finally putting them together. With networks looking to shave production costs, it seems Wolf Entertainment had to make some tough decisions, which ultimately led to the departures of both Lockett and Kyri
While we’d hate to see anyone on the cast go, the decision to let Lockett go is puzzling for sure and will bring an end to the will they, won’t they dynamic between Carver and Violet. It also feels like a move that cheapens all that Carver has gone through this season, but by robbing fans of seeing Carver fully come out on the other side of his sobriety journey and giving us the chance to see Carver reclaim control over his professional and personal life.
The one silver lining is that the decision was made before filming wrapped on the season, so all we can hope is that the writers manage to craft a proper sendoff for such an amazing actor and character.