CHICAGO FIRE’s Andrea Newman Teases a Season of ‘Change and Evolution’

When CHICAGO FIRE kicks off its 12th season on Wednesday, January 17, there will be a lot of on-screen changes in store.

Series regulars Kara Killmer (who plays Brett) and Alberto Rosende (who plays Gallo) will exit this season; Taylor Kinney is returning as Severide after missing the end of last season; and the firehouse will get a new member with the addition of Rome Flynn’s Jake Gibson.

For the writers, who have been tasked with juggling the hellos and goodbyes amid the regular FIRE shenanigans—not to mention two big cliffhangers—“I will say there’s a challenge to it, but we kind of said the theme of this season is change and evolution,” new CHICAGO FIRE showrunner Andrea Newman tells Give Me My Remote. (Newman previously co-ran the series with Derek Haas, who departed at the end of last season.) “That’s just a part of life and nothing stays the same forever. The comings and goings are really honestly a fun challenge for us because you don’t want things to stay the same. You have to shake it up.”

“It’s sad to say goodbye,” she continues. “But it’s also great to be able to bring in new characters and have things get a little roiled and stirred. So we’ve actually, really, as sad as it is to say goodbye to people we love and characters we love, this season, I think, is sort of the juiciest yet—in some ways—because of all of that change.”

One name, however, wasn’t among the previously announced castings: Jesse Spencer, whose Matt Casey proposed to Brett in the season finale.

“I will say that Casey is just part of the DNA of Firehouse 51, and I couldn’t love that character more,” Newman teases. “We couldn’t love that character more and we couldn’t love the actor more. You will be seeing Matt Casey again.”

And, yes, like MED, CHICAGO FIRE will have a six-month time jump when the show returns. “We wanted to make sure we were all in the same world together, including the viewers,” Newman says. “We’re all in it together.”

CHICAGO FIRE, Season Premiere, Wednesday, January 17, 9/8c, NBC

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