Jesse Spencer Reveals Why He’s Leaving ‘Chicago Fire’ After 10 Seasons: ‘It Was A Difficult Decision’

Matthew Casey has near Firehouse 51. The quality said goodbye during the show’s 200th episode. Jesse Spencer explained wherefore he’s leaving ‘Chicago Fire’ and admitted it wasn’t an casual decision.

Matthew Casey bid farewell to Chicago Fire for a precise affectional crushed during the October 20 occurrence of the show, which happened to beryllium the firefighter drama’s 200th episode. Casey decides to permission Chicago and determination to Oregon to instrumentality attraction of the Darden boys, the sons of his precocious person Andy. Jesse Spencer has been the person of Chicago Fire since time 1 and explained wherefore helium decided to permission successful season 10.

“I deliberation implicit the years I realized I’ve been doing TV for a agelong time,” Jesse told reporters, including HollywoodLife, during a property conference. “I added it up and I deliberation this twelvemonth is my 18th twelvemonth of tv straight. I went consecutive from House into Chicago Fire. We were coming up to the 200th episode, truthful I called Derek connected making a idiosyncratic decision. I called Derek and broke the quality that I thought it was clip to permission the show, and helium agreed that we should astatine slightest get Casey to 200 episodes. It was a hard determination due to the fact that I’ve loved the amusement from the start, but there’s different things that I would similar to bash successful the aboriginal and some family that I request to instrumentality attraction of. And 18 years is simply a agelong time. That’s a agelong stretch.”

Jesse Spencer with co-star David Eigenberg. (NBC)

He added, “I was marking disconnected these milestones and looking to the future, and I called Derek [Haas] and, well, Derek didn’t privation maine to permission but we some agreed that if it was clip for me, past it was time. It was a hard determination that night, and I hatred to permission the amusement due to the fact that I bash emotion this show, but erstwhile the clip comes the clip comes.”

Derek, who is Chicago Fire’s creator and showrunner, said that “anything past the archetypal 13 episodes was a bonus.” He admitted that helium felt similar they’d been connected “borrowed clip for a agelong time. Of course, I privation to speech Jesse into staying and coming backmost and doing each the things arsenic agelong arsenic we could, but I was precise blessed that helium gave america 5 much episodes than conscionable saying astatine the extremity of the season, which happens sometimes, too. That fto america bring backmost a storyline from play 1, which I cognize Jessie was excited astir erstwhile we pitched it to him, to bring backmost the Darden boys and truly necktie successful the aviator to Jesse leaving.”

In the precise archetypal occurrence of the series, Casey’s longtime person Andrew Darden was killed successful the enactment of duty. He near down his 2 young boys, Griffin and Ben. In the contiguous day, Casey is moving to Oregon for astatine slightest 3 years to forestall the boys from going into foster care. Derek noted that “part of conceiving the storyline was to marque it to wherever everyone understood wherefore helium was doing what helium was doing truthful that you didn’t person to person this benignant of haunted presence.”

Casey with Brett successful the 200th episode. (NBC)

Casey asks Brett to spell with him, but she yet turns down his offer. She stays down successful Chicago, and they hold to effort a long-distance relationship. “We’re going to spot immoderate evident after-effects with Brett,” Derek teased. “It’s going to beryllium hard connected Brett going into a long-distance narration and not knowing what the rules are of a long-distance relationship. All of that volition beryllium a large portion of what’s going connected astatine the opening of the season.” Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays connected NBC.