Chicago Fire Bosses Preview How the Finale's Wedding Forces Casey and Brett to 'Reassess' Their Relationship

Vlada Gelman
·5 min read

Casey and Brett are both back in the Windy City for the big “Stellaride” wedding in this Wednesday’s Chicago Fire season finale (NBC, 9/8c) — but only one of them is likely to stay put in Chi-Town.

With another separation looming for the couple, as Casey prepares to go back to Oregon while Brett remains in Chicago, the pair are at a crossroads. And Severide and Stella’s nuptials only intensify the questions Casey and Brett have about their own future.

More from TVLine

Below, co-showrunners Derek Haas and Andrea Newman talk about bringing back Jesse Spencer, how Casey has changed during his time away and why love might not be enough for Casey and Brett.

TVLINE | What were the conversations like with Jesse about returning? Did you have to do much convincing?
DEREK HAAS | Oh yeah, Andrea and I and [executive producer Michael] Gilvary, basically, whatever it took, we were like, “Jesse, you’re coming and doing this finale.” So we pretty much begged him, pleaded and offered him the moon so that he would come back and do the finale. But he’s the greatest and he was in even before we started all of that. The character pledged he would be best man at Severide’s wedding. We’re so grateful to [Jesse] that he would come back and honor that pledge.

Chicago Fire Casey Returns
Chicago Fire Casey Returns

TVLINE | What made now the right time to bring him back? And under what kind of circumstances does Casey come back?


ANDREA NEWMAN | It was the perfect time for the reasons Derek was just talking about, the fact that he had promised to be Severide’s best man after the engagement and he’s a man of his word. So he’s back for that. And it’s also a kind of critical time in his relationship with Brett. They’ve just spent a bunch of time together, and now they’re going to have to part ways again because they live in these separate places. So he comes back with her, and they attend this wedding together and get to have that moment everybody has at a wedding where you look at somebody else’s relationship and that makes you reassess your own. So that’s where they’re at in that finale.

TVLINE | Brett’s been away for quite a bit of time with Casey, off screen, and we haven’t really seen how that’s impacted their relationship. How has their relationship grown as a result of that time together?
NEWMAN | With the two of them, as we’ve seen in the past, they get closer with every moment they spend together. They’re really in love. But the question is sort of bigger than that. It’s bigger than the time when they’re together. It’s more about the time when they’re apart right now and the fact that they have to be apart to each be able to have their own lives. So that’s the crux of the issue in the finale, too.
HAAS | And I think when you have a long distance relationship, the goodbyes don’t get easier. They get harder. And so we’re going see a little of that.

TVLINE | It’s been so long since we’ve seen Casey. Has this experience in Portland, with these two boys, in a different field of firefighting, changed him at all when he comes back?
NEWMAN | Well, it’s interesting you asked that because Brett says something up to that point exactly, which is that seeing him there in Oregon, it feels like the place that he was meant to be, that role of father. He’s always wanted to be a dad. He established that, I think, way back even in the pilot maybe, certainly early on, that that was something he cared very much about. And so now he’s in this new place, fighting wildfires and being a dad, and it feels like it’s just the right fit. So we’ll see a Casey who is in a very happy and content place in terms of life and the big question mark is his relationship with Brett.

TVLINE | Coming off this episode, are you hopeful that we’ll see Casey again next season? Or is there a sense of closure to Casey’s story with this finale?
HAAS | Door’s always open on our end. I have no idea what the future holds. It’s kind of like that with a bunch of our characters from the past, where we just love the actors, and we understand when a show goes on this long that people aren’t going to make a lifelong commitment to us. We tend to love to have characters come back from the past, so there’s no ending, as far as our show is concerned, for Casey.

Chicago Fire Casey Returns
Chicago Fire Casey Returns

TVLINE | Are we going to get Casey making good on his word to throw Severide that crazy bachelor party?


HAAS | Well, everything’s not going to go as planned. So we’re not going to necessarily get a bachelor party. But we’re going to have pretty much a crazy, crazy wedding.
NEWMAN | Yeah, literally not one thing goes as planned for this wedding.
HAAS | And I will say they should not have put Tony and Capp in charge of anything. We’ll just say that. I don’t want to spoil anything. [Andrea laughs] They’re really good at fighting fires. Other than that, I don’t know that they should be in charge of anything.

TVLINE | What kind of a season finale are we in store for? What kind of note does it end on?
HAAS | You know how you do your [May Sweeps Scorecard] checklist? We’re checking all the boxes! Every box is getting checked in some way, shape or form. That’s not how I wanted to do it. I wanted it to be super happy, everybody cheering at the end. It’s all hugs and kisses, and the wedding goes exactly as planned, and every one of our characters shows up and doesn’t miss it. But Andrea said that she couldn’t stand that.
NEWMAN | Don’t listen to him! Now he’s not speaking. [Laughs]

Best of TVLine

Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter

Click here to read the full article.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • NCAA approves helmet communication, sideline tablets, two-minute warning for college football

    The NCAA approved the use of helmet communiation devices and sideline tablets for college football next season. Additionally, a two-minute warning will be incorporated into gameplay.

  • UPDATE 1-Mexico's Slim eyes $7.7 billion investment in Brazil in coming years

    Mexican magnate Carlos Slim is considering investing more than 40 billion reais ($7.70 billion) in Brazil in the coming years, he said on Friday, after meeting with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia. Slim, whose family controls telecommunications giant America Movil, said the investments would be made in Brazil's 5G and fiber-optic networks. America Movil-owned Claro is a huge player in the South American country's telecom sector.

  • Initiative 'led by survivors to uncover the truth'

    THUNDER BAY – Residential school survivors gathered at a hotel on Highway 61 this week to discuss their experiences and how the Bringing Our Children Home Initiative should move forward. The initiative, also named Bikiiwewinig Nindawaashishiiminaanak, is investigating the possibility of unmarked graves where the Pelican Lake Indian Residential School once operated. Bringing Our Children Home “was created and led by survivors to uncover the truth,” Lac Seul Chief Clifford Bull said Thursday durin

  • Fed says 1,804 banks and other institutions tapped emergency lending facility

    About 95% of the borrowers, which included banks, credit unions, savings associations, and branches and agencies of foreign banks, had less than $10 billion in assets, the U.S. central bank said in its semi-annual Financial Stability Report. The Bank Term Funding Program, as it was called, was aimed at addressing a liquidity crunch after a run on deposits led to the failures of SVB and Signature Bank and forced financial authorities to stage a rescue of the sector.

  • Port Moody honours Robert Simons with Freedom of the City award

    Before Wednesday night, it would have been hard to describe Robert Simons in a short sentence. The long-time Port Moody resident has served as a volunteer, committee member, board member, provincial appointee, vice-president and president of a dizzying amount of community, academic and non-profit organizations. Port Moody bestowed Simons with the highest honour it can give a resident on April 17, awarding him the Freedom of the City medal along with a key to the city. “My last love is giving bac

  • US State Dept 'fully expects' to finalize new AUKUS trade exemptions in next 120 days

    The U.S. State Department said on Friday it fully expects to finalize new trade exemptions for the AUKUS defense project with Australia and Britain over the next 120 days. "Exemptions in our export control systems, within a framework of shared standards with Australia and the UK, are key to harnessing and maximizing the innovative power residing in our defense industrial bases," the department said in a statement. "We fully expect to finalize the new trade exemptions – based on stakeholder input – over the course of the next 120 days," it said.

  • The Latest | Judge agrees to seal 4 pieces of evidence in hush money trial

    NEW YORK (AP) — A jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated on Friday in former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal case. The completion of jury selection sets the stage for opening statements in the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president to begin Monday, as well as weeks of testimony in a case charging Trump with falsifying business records to suppress stories about his sex life emerging in the final days of the 2016 election. The jury includes a sales professional,

  • Former Wales winger Leighton James dies, aged 71

    He had three spells at Burnley, helped hometown club Swansea in to the top tier of English football and won 54 caps for his country.

  • Cambridge college cuts ties with philosophy fellow who sparked race row

    A college at the University of Cambridge has cut ties with a philosophy fellow who sparked a race row.

  • N.B. environment minister resigns, citing political differences with Higgs's Tories

    FREDERICTON — New Brunswick’s environment minister quit on Friday, citing political differences with the Progressive Conservative government led by Premier Blaine Higgs. Gary Crossman announced his decision on social media, saying that after 10 years representing the Saint John-area riding of Hampton, he has to prioritize his health. “My personal and political beliefs no longer align in many ways with the direction of our party and government,” Crossman wrote. He did not specify which of his bel

  • Fed report cites inflation, US election as key financial stability risks

    Persistent inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates were cited as key risks to financial stability in the Federal Reserve's latest survey of U.S. central bank contacts, with geopolitical troubles and the 2024 U.S. presidential election also mentioned as "a potentially significant source of shocks." "Contacts noted several areas of uncertainty including trade policy and other foreign policy issues related to escalating geopolitical tensions," the Fed said on Friday in its semi-annual survey of 25 market participants, academics and other contacts. The survey results were included as part of the Fed's latest Financial Stability Report, which looks at issues like leverage and risk-taking throughout the economy to try to identify potential trouble spots.

  • Private schools may have been included in Cambridge University scheme for deprived teens

    Private school pupils may have been flagged for inclusion in a Cambridge University scheme designed to help deprived teenagers, an investigation has found.

  • Nvidia Sinks, Exposing 8 'Secrets' For When To Sell Stocks

    As top growth stocks like Nvidia fall below key moving averages, keep in mind these proven rules for when to sell stocks.

  • Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department – live updates: What critics and fans are saying

    Pop star shares message with fans from Instagram as fans celebrate new album release, with many noticing several lyrical references to The 1975’s Matty Healy along with her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn

  • Forget Tesla. Top Funds Love This Non-Mag 7 AI Giant.

    As Tesla tanks, top funds bet big on AI leader Broadcom stock, as well as Nvidia and Google. But market pressures rise.

  • Stock market today: Tech stocks smoked, Nvidia tumbles 10% to cap worst week of the year

    A measure of calm was returning after Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran spooked the market and spurred a rush to safe havens such as gold.

  • Polish leader tells B.C. audience NATO allies need to spend more on defence

    VANCOUVER — Poland's president says members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including Canada, must raise defence spending to three per cent of GDP to deter Russia's war in Ukraine from spreading. Andrzej Duda made the comments at a speech in Vancouver on Friday, a day ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. While not saying Canada by name, Duda says the West has "a lot of gaps" in its industrial base to produce military aid for Ukraine in its defence against Russia, a

  • Ryan Garcia misses weight for Devin Haney showdown as world title hopes vanish

    Fight remains on, but Garcia can no longer win Haney’s WBC light-welterweight title and will also pay rival $1.5m

  • The Office spin-off casts Domhnall Gleeson in lead role

    The Office US spin-off has cast Star Wars actor Domhnall Gleeson in a lead role.

  • AP Top Stories April 19 P

    Here's the latest for Friday, April 19th: Jury selected in Trump hush money trial; Biden courts union workers; House moves closer to aid package for Ukraine and Israel, World leaders try to cool Israel-Iran tensions.