The real reason why these actors left The One Chicago franchise
“One Chicago” is the collective name of a series of interconnected NBC television series, all of which take place in the same universe of fictional inner-city Chicago, populated by many heroic first responders. and hardworking. Co-created and produced by Dick Wolf (who knows a thing or two about complex procedural television given his decades spent on NBC’s Law & Order and its many spin-offs), the story of Chicago begins with the firefighter drama Chicago Fire in 2012. It will be joined by Chicago P.D. in 2014, emergency room-based Chicago Med in 2015 and briefly by law-focused Chicago Justice in 2017.
Characters and storylines frequently cross over into all of Chicago’s various shows, which makes for some of the most ambitious and complex crossovers in television history. There are also plenty of people needed to play firefighters, EMTs, police officers, detectives, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and more. – over the years – One Chicago has naturally had quite a large turnover. Here are the actors who left the One Chicago series and why they did so.
Monica Raymund (Chicago Flame)
Gabriela Dawson can do anything on Chicago Fire. The younger sister of Chicago P.D.’s Antonio Dawson, Gabby began her role as a Paramedic in charge of Ambulance 61, only to pass all the necessary tests to become a firefighter ( albeit only temporarily) before returning to his first love. Gabby eventually decides that Chicago is not for her, taking her talents to Puerto Rico to mount a rescue operation.
Monica Raymund’s departure is surprising because she’s been on Chicago Fire since the beginning, playing Gabby Dawson for the entire first six seasons. That was enough for her, and so, with some reluctance, she continued. “I devoted six years of my life to that program and created a family there, so it was like a separation, if you will,” Raymund told the Chicago Tribune. “I knew that my six-year contract was coming to an end and I felt like I was hungry to explore another role, another story.”
Lauren German (Chicago Flame)
Leslie Shay, portrayed by Lauren German in the first two seasons of Chicago Fire, is a capable paramedic who holds her own in the harsh world of Firehouse 51. A beloved character in the universe show and a fan favorite, it was truly shocking when Shay was killed in the third season premiere of Chicago Fire. Her death ended a cliffhanger from the previous season, in which first responders fell into a fire trap set by a serial arsonist.
From a creative standpoint, Shay died because someone had to – according to executive producer Matt Olmstead, the central character’s death would bring a strong emotional response to the audience. “Going into it, we knew if we were going to do it, it had to be someone who was going to give us a big impact, rather than choosing a lesser known character, which would have been equivalent with one punch,” Olmstead told TVLine. The producer revealed that he and the show’s writers considered each main character, ultimately choosing Shay “because it affected the most people”.
Charlie Barnett (Chicago Fire)
Peter Mills is like an audience surrogate for Chicago Fire, in which fans see the exciting and often scary world of firefighting in big cities through his eyes. Taking on the same job as his late father, Mills was a rookie when the program began in 2012, moving up to full-level firefighter and eventually transferring to the medical unit. In the third season, he returns to fight fires and save a life on his first call, only to decide that what he really wants is to work in his family’s restaurant in North Carolina. .
Actor Charlie Barnett found out he was about to lose his job from the producers just before the episode finished taping. “I hadn’t heard anything about it and then they pulled me into the room, sat me down and apologized,” Barnett told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Those in charge felt that his character “has reached his peak and the writers don’t know where to take him because he’s done so much already.”
Dora Madison Burge (Chicago Flame)
Peter Mills’ replacement as Paramedic in charge of the third season of Chicago Fire: Jessica Chilton, aka “Chili”, who transferred from the west side of Chicago. She had difficulty convincing the other crew members to accept her, who were loyal to Mills, and faced more challenges successively.
Grieving over her sister’s death in season 4, Chili gives the wrong medication to a patient, nearly killing her, sending her into a spiral of alcoholism that leads to Captain Boden dismissing her. In other words, she was fired — and by extension, so was actress Dora Madison Burge — midway through the season. It seemed nothing personal, merely part of showrunner Matt Olmstead’s effort to keep Chicago Fire dramatic and surprising. “You can’t just save the big moments and the departures and entrances for the characters in episode one and episode 22,” Olmstead told The Hollywood Reporter.
Steven R. McQueen (Chicago Fire)
After leaving The Vampire Diaries after six seasons, Steven R. McQueen joined Chicago Fire in its fourth season as Truck 81 firefighter and paramedic Jimmy Borrelli. The character has a big emotional arc when his brother dies in a fire, and Borrelli blames Battalion Commander Boden. Personal and workplace tensions eased when Borrelli was seriously injured in an explosion, which cost him one eye and required constant medical supervision. That ended Borrelli’s emergency and medical career, as well as McQueen’s time on Chicago Fire, after just 24 episodes.
Kicking him out is actually the show’s way of deciding who wins the Borrelli-Boden – Boden battle. “With Jimmy’s character, it feels like he needs to stand up for what he believes in, but Boden needs to stand up for what he believes in, and those two things can’t exist together,” said the thing. executive producer Michael Brandt told TVLine. And getting rid of Eamonn Walker, who has played Boden since the series began, is not an option. “Eamonn has been with us since Day One. He was the first character we cast.”
