Chicago Fire season 14 is shaping up to be a season of change for NBC’s longest-running One Chicago drama. Just months after word broke that the show would be bidding farewell to two longtime cast members, it has been confirmed that yet another major member of the cast is exiting the show ahead of season 14.
As confirmed by TVLine, Michael Bradway will not be returning for Chicago Fire season 14. The news, while disappointing, is not entirely shocking as word of his exit comes on the heels of Prime Video announcing that Bradway has joined the cast of its new show Every Summer After, based on Carley Fortune’s 2022 novel of the same name.
Bradway joined Chicago Fire in season 12 as newbie Jack Damon, a firefighter fresh out of the fire academy. After much speculation about Damon’s motives that he was hiding a secret from both Kidd and Severide, we learned in the season 12 finale that Damon was Severide’s half-brother. Damon returned in season 13 with a reduced role in the early episodes, but returned to 51 in the final stretch of the season, where he began to put down roots at the firehouse.
With Bradway now leaving the show, it seems Chicago Fire is going to have to come up with a storyline to explain his sudden departure from 51. It’s expected that the exit will come off-screen, but there is at least some good news for fans of the character.
TVLine reports that while Bradway is exiting Chicago Fire, the show’s producers have made it clear that they’re open to bringing him back into the fold to reprise his role should his schedule allow for a guest appearance or possibly even a guest arc.
Bradway is now the third actor confirmed to be exiting the show ahead of season 14. His exit follows the departures of Jake Lockett and Daniel Kyri as Sam Carver and Darren Ritter, respectively. Lockett’s exit was alluded to in the season finale when we learned that Carver had taken a job out of state, but no groundwork was set for Ritter’s departure, which has fans worried his exit might occur off-screen or via a quick send-off in the premiere.
Amid the forthcoming cast shakeups, NBC has added some fresh blood to the cast with the addition of Brandon Larracuente. No details have been provided as to who Larracuente will be playing with character information being kept under wraps, but we do know he’s joining the cast as a series regular. With three firefighters leaving 51, it’s likely Larracuente will be playing a new addition to the firehouse, likely to fill one of the vacancies left by the exits of Carver, Ritter, and Damon.
It’s unclear whether there could be any additional casting shakeups ahead, but we do know there are at least three actors confirmed to return for season 14. Early in the offseason, it was announced that NBC inked deals to secure the returns of Miranda Rae Mayo (Stella Kidd), Taylor Kinney (Kelly Severide), and Dermot Mulroney (Chief Dom Pascal).
