Chicago Fire Season 12 premieres with intense reunions and tearful goodbyes

Season 12 of Chicago Fire premiered with quite a few surprises during its 1-hour run on NBC last night.

The first episode of the action-drama series saw return of its beloved characters from before, as well as bid a tearful farewell to some, aired on Wednesday, Jan. 17.

It kicked off with a steamy sequence of scenes between Stella Kidd, played by Miranda Rae Mayo, and her husband Kelly Severide, played by Taylor Kinney, following their heart clenching reunion after Kinney left the show in 2023.

Why was Taylor Kinney off Chicago Fire?

The 42-year-old actor took a leave of absence from the show in January of last year “to deal with a personal matter,” a source told People at the time.

Kinney last appeared in a scene on Chicago Fire on Feb. 22, 2023.

At the end of season 11, Stella was left heartbroken as she headed south to find her husband after he never returned home following his arson investigation training course.

Hence, their reunion laid down a path for starting over due to lack of trust between the pair in the upcoming episodes.

Gallo leaving Chicago Fire:

With Kelly’s arrival came the tearful departure of Blake Gallo, played by Alberto Rosende, who left the firehouse to be with his family in Michigan.

Saying his last goodbyes to his former colleagues, Gallo expressed, “I’m going to miss my family at 51 like hell.”

The episode culminated with Christopher Herrmann, played by David Eigenberg, playing the hero as he caught the arsonist targeting the firehouse.

A teaser for the next episode hinted at tensions between Kelly and Joe Cruz, played by Joe Miñoso, due to the latter struggling to take orders after serving as the team’s leader in Kelly’s absence.