#OneChicago Cast Exits, Ranked

Many a resident has departed the Windy City since the #OneChicago franchise launched in 2012.

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Below, TVLine has compiled a comprehensive guide to all the characters who have bid adieu to Chicago Fire and its spinoffs Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med, ranked from least to most significant. Our list includes details on how and why each actor was written out, as well as their first and last episodes so you can revisit their arcs. You might even find a few people whom you forgot have come and gone through Chi-Town. (Note: We limited our ranking to series regulars — or those who would have been full-time cast members, in a couple special cases — and heavily recurring characters.)

The departures run the gamut from shockingly tragic deaths (R.I.P., Otis, Shay, Olinsky and more) to hopeful new beginnings (hi, Peter Mills!). And of course, some goodbyes were harder than others to accept, while some exits left a more lasting impact on both viewers and the other characters. So which exit shocked the world of Chicago the most?

Review our rankings to see who topped our list, then hit the comments to tell us which goodbye hit you hardest and who you miss the most!

34. Chicago Med‘s Laurie Holden (as Hannah Tramble)

First Episode: Chicago Fire Season 3, Episode 19 (aka the Med backdoor pilot)

Last Episode: Chicago Fire Season 3, Episode 19 (aka the Med backdoor pilot)

After appearing as an ED surgeon in Med‘s backdoor pilot, Holden made the “tough” decision to leave the show “for family reasons,” the actress said in a statement. No on-screen explanation was given for her character’s absence when the medical spinoff premiered.

33. Chicago P.D.‘s Scott Eastwood (as Jim Barnes), Tania Raymonde (as Nicole Sermons), Kelly Blatz (as Elam) and J.B. Smoove (as Sergeant Pruitt)

First Episode: Chicago Fire Season 1, Episode 23 (aka the P.D. backdoor pilot)

Last Episode: Chicago Fire Season 1, Episode 23 (aka the P.D. backdoor pilot)

If you forgot this was the original cast of the police drama, we don’t blame you: Several of the actors quietly exited the offshoot before it even premiered for creative reasons.

32. Chicago P.D.‘s Melissa Sagemiller (as Julia Willhite)

First Episode: Chicago Fire Season 1, Episode 23 (aka the P.D. backdoor pilot)

Last Episode: Chicago P.D. Season 1, Episode 1

Of the actors who appeared in P.D.‘s backdoor pilot, Sagemiller was one of the few who made it the official series — but not for long. Her detective character was shot and killed on the job in the series premiere.

31. Chicago Fire‘s Adriyan Rae (as Gianna Mackey)

First Episode: Season 9, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 9, Episode 9

Shortly after her debut as the firehouse’s new paramedic, Rae exited the series because “she had some private reasons to leave Chicago,” showrunner Derek Haas explained. Unfortunately, with not even half a season under her belt, we can’t say that we grew too attached to Mackey, who chose to transfer to another firehouse, where she would have the opportunity for future advancement.

30. Chicago P.D.‘s Archie Kao (as Sheldon Jin)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 1, Episode 15

Intelligence’s first tech and surveillance expert met an early end when he was killed by Voight’s Internal Affairs handler. At the time, viewers were still getting to know Jin, who was spying on Voight for IA to protect his own father.

29. Chicago P.D.‘s Lisseth Chavez (as Vanessa Rojas)

First Episode: Chicago P.D. Season 7, Episode 2

Last Episode: Chicago P.D. Season 7, Episode 20

The undercover cop was recruited by Sergeant Voight to become a member of the Intelligence unit, but her time on the team — and her slight flirtation with fellow officer Kevin Atwater — was cut short after just one season. Chavez would move on to a role on The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow, while Rojas’ absence was strangely never addressed when the police drama returned for Season 8.

28. Chicago Fire‘s Dora Madison (as Jessica “Chili” Chilton)

First Episode: Season 3, Episode 21

Last Episode: Season 4, Episode 14

The paramedic wasn’t around for long, but she certainly made an impression with her spirited personality and by getting into an ill-fated relationship with firefighter Jimmy Borelli. Unfortunately, after the death of her sister, Chili started drinking heavily and coming into work late, leaving Chief Boden with no choice but to fire her.

27. Chicago Med‘s Kristen Hager (as Stevie Hammer)

First Episode: Season 7, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 7, Episode 14

A new addition to the long-running medical drama, Hager exited the show after half a season as a series regular. In her final episode, Stevie reconciled with her bipolar mother and then decided to go to Michigan to give her marriage with her estranged husband another try, effectively putting an end to a potential relationship with Dr. Will Halstead before it could even get off the ground. The door, however, remains open for Stevie to return one day. “Her story arc with her mother ended. But we all really liked Kristen and would welcome her character coming back in the future,” executive producers Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov told TVLine in a statement.

26. Chicago Fire‘s Steven R. McQueen (as Jimmy Borelli)

First Episode: Season 4, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 5, Episode 2

After a season-long stint, McQueen’s young firefighter was written out when he was badly burned during a rescue, ending his career. “There are times when people get injured, or really bad things happen to them, and we don’t follow through on that, and sometimes, we feel like we have to pull the trigger on certain things,” executive producer Michael Brandt told TVLine.

25. Chicago Med‘s Guy Lockard (as Dylan Scott)

First Episode: Season 7, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 8, Episode 1

After just one season, Lockard’s character exited the NBC drama when Dylan decided to leave Med following Milena’s death and the realization that he could never truly escape his police past if he stayed in the Windy City. “He was a former cop and that dynamic and his being caught between those two worlds is what was so interesting in his character,” executive producer Andrew Schneider explained to TVLine, “but we felt we really played that out with a number of storylines, and finally with the death of the woman he loved, we felt this would be a good time for him to move on.”

24. Chicago P.D.‘s Samuel Hunt (as Greg “Mouse” Gerwitz)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 15

Last Episode: Season 4, Episode 5

It might surprise you to learn that Hunt was never a series regular even though he appeared in 35 episodes. Despite that technicality, tech/surveillance expert Mouse was a vital member of Intelligence and provided insight into Halstead, with whom he served in the Army Rangers. So when Mouse decided to re-enlist, it definitely hurt Halstead — and us.

23. Chicago P.D.‘s Stella Maeve (as Nadia Decotis)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 4

Last Episode: Season 2, Episode 20

Although not a series regular, Maeve appeared in 18 episodes over two seasons, until her character — a prostitute and drug addict whom Lindsay helped get clean — was raped and murdered during a crossover with Law & Order: SVU. Her death sent Lindsay down a dark path and back to the bottle.

22. Chicago Fire‘s Teri Reeves (as Hallie Thomas)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 1, Episode 22

The death of Casey’s fiancée freed up the firefighter to eventually have a seasons-long romance with Gabby Dawson. But Reeves’ departure had a more surprising significance: Even though her character was a doctor, spurring rumors of a medical spinoff, her murder actually set up the investigation for P.D.‘s backdoor pilot.

21. Chicago Med‘s Asjha Cooper (as Vanessa Taylor)

First Episode: Season 6, Episode 13

Last Episode: Season 8, Episode 5

Cooper recurred for 28 episodes as Dr. Vanessa Taylor, a medical student and the biological daughter that charge nurse Maggie Lockwood gave up for adoption. Vanessa eventually learned of Maggie’s true identity and joined the Emergency Department staff as a resident, allowing her to build a relationship with Maggie and eventually her biological father. But after she illegally obtained meds for a patient, Vanessa decided that her calling was a doctor job in the Philippines, where she could truly help sick people.

20. Chicago P.D.‘s Brian Geraghty (as Sean Roman)

First Episode: Season 2, Episode 1

Last Episode (as a series regular): Season 3, Episode 23

Geraghty never intended to stay on the NBC drama long-term… but viewers didn’t know that. So when the officer decided to leave the Windy City to start over in San Diego — and invited his partner/girlfriend Burgess to join him — it came as a surprise. In the end, Burgess decided to stay and eventually made her way upstairs to the Intelligence unit, while Roman left town (but later came back for a Season 7 episode).

19. Chicago Fire‘s Annie Ilonzeh (as Emily Foster)

First Episode: Season 7, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 8, Episode 20

The paramedic announced her plan to return to medical school in the show’s makeshift Season 8 finale. Shortly after that, it was announced that Ilonzeh will not be returning as a series regular after a two-year run. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic cut the show’s season short, forcing Foster to exit mostly off-screen and leaving Brett, once again, in need of a new partner on ambo when the series returned for Season 9.

18. Chicago Med‘s Norma Kuhling (as Ava Bekker)

First Episode: Season 2, Episode 23

Last Episode: Season 5, Episode 1

Oh, Ava, how they did you wrong. First introduced as a rival-turned-love interest for Connor Rhodes, the surgeon started to turn unstable, sleeping with Connor’s father for funding and then lying about it. Then when Connor’s dad wound up dead from an overdose of synthetic insulin, all eyes turned to Ava. Ultimately, Med bid adieu to the doc for “creative reasons,” in very dramatic fashion: After reiterating to her former beau that she killed his dad for them, she grabbed a scalpel and slit her own throat! The tragedy also paved the way for Connor’s exit in the same episode.

17. Chicago Med‘s Rachel DiPillo (as Sarah Reese)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 4, Episode 1

The young med student chose to continue her psych residency elsewhere after the discovery that her father was a serial killer and that Dr. Charles almost let him die. “She had such a close relationship to Charles, and she feels betrayed by him and just can’t stay,” executive producer Diane Frolov explained to TVLine. While Reese’s thinking made sense, her departure meant that the show lost a rich student/mentor dynamic.

16. Chicago Fire‘s Alberto Rosende (as Blake Gallo)

First Episode: Season 8, Episode 2

Last Episode: Season 12, Episode 1

After endearing himself to viewers (and paramedic Violet), Rosende opted to leave the series, but returned briefly in the Season 12 opener to wrap up his character’s arc: Blake Gallo said his goodbyes to the firehouse crew before moving to Michigan to be closer to his mom’s side of the family.

“When I decided to end my time with Chicago [Fire], it wasn’t easy,” Rosende wrote in an Instagram story. “The people I’ve met were truly special, the friendships I’ve made will last a lifetime and story I got to tell was one that made me proud.”

15. Chicago Fire‘s Charlie Barnett (as Peter Mills)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 3, Episode 20

Well, at least Mills got a non-deadly goodbye: He left to open a restaurant in North Carolina with his family. Before taking off, the firefighter/paramedic planted an unexpected kiss on his ex-girlfriend Gabby Dawson and told her that she knows where to find him if she’s ever looking for a change. (Hey, they are both single now…) “It was time to shake things up,” executive producer Matt Olmstead explained, adding that the exit would “give us, hopefully, some new blood in terms of a new character, and the departure of [Mills] is going to affect other people. So it’s invigorating, storytelling-wise.”

14. Chicago Med‘s Yaya DaCosta (as April Sexton)

First Episode: Chicago Fire Season 3, Episode 17

Last Episode: Chicago Med Season 6, Episode 16

The longtime Med cast member, who made her first #OneChicago appearance on Fire as Severide’s friend from high school, exited the medical drama after six seasons. In her final episode, April learned that she got into the nurse practitioners program — and admitted her love for ex Ethan after he was shot and nearly killed. The couple finally got closure on their relationship in Season 8, when the actress returned as part of Brian Tee’s exit storyline, and Ethan and April got married and started a mobile health clinic.

13. Chicago Med‘s Torrey DeVitto (as Natalie Manning)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 7, Episode 1

Shortly after DeVitto’s departure was announced, the actress wrote on Instagram, “All good things must come to an end. It has been such an honor and pure joy to bring Dr. Natalie Manning to life for all of you on Chicago Med for the past 6 seasons. But it is now time for me and her to bow out and say goodbye.” DeVitto briefly returned in the Season 7 premiere to wrap up her character’s arc, which saw Natalie moving to Seattle with her son and starting over at a new hospital, showrunners Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov told TVLine. With DeVitto’s exit, the series lost an original cast member, as well as one of its OG couples in “Manstead” — but only temporarily! When Nick Gehlfuss departed the show in the Season 8 finale, his character Will left Chicago to reunite with Natalie in Seattle.

12. Chicago Med‘s Brian Tee (as Ethan Choi)

First Episode: Chicago Med Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode: Chicago Med Season 8, Episode 9

Med lost another longtime series regular when Tee exited the drama to spend more time with his family and pursue other career opportunities, according to our sister site Deadline. “Playing Dr. Ethan Choi on Chicago Med has been such a gift and a blessing,” the actor told the site. “I am forever grateful to our fans and my colleagues both in front of and behind the camera as I embark on a new journey. I am forever indebted to Dick Wolf, NBC, and Universal Television for choosing me.” In his final episode, Ethan married his on-and-off love April (played by former series regular Yaya DaCosta) and the two embarked on their new life together, running a mobile health clinic.

11. Chicago Fire‘s Kara Killmer (as Sylvie Brett)

First Episode: Season 3, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 12, Episode 6

After a long run as one of Fire’s main female leads, Killmer departed as paramedic Sylvie Brett midway through the sixth season, when her character and on-and-off boyfriend Matt Casey (played by Jesse Spencer) finally got married and left to start their new life together with their kids in Portland.

“I think this is a natural conclusion for the arc of Sylvie’s character,” Killmer told TVLine. “It’s just so satisfying to get to see her have everything that she always wanted and to see the kind of woman she’s become, the sort of paramedic she’s become. She’s really stepped into her own, and so, this is a natural conclusion for her.”

10. Chicago Med‘s Nick Gehlfuss (as Will Halstead)

First Episode: Chicago P.D. Season 2, Episode 17

Last Episode: Chicago Med Season 8, Episode 22

Gehlfuss’ history with the #OneChicago franchise goes way back: The character of Will was first introduced as Jay Halstead’s brother in a March 2015 episode of P.D. The actor then went on to appear in a Season 3 installment of Chicago Fire that served as a planted pilot for Med, before transitioning to the medical spinoff with its series debut in November 2015. But after eight seasons as a series regular on Med, Gehlfuss exited the drama as Will resigned from the hospital and reunited with his ex-fiancée Natalie Manning (former series regular Torrey DeVitto) and her son Owen in Seattle.

“It was a difficult decision, but I felt…that I was getting to the point of taking Dr. Halstead as far as I could go with him,” Gehlfuss explained to TVLine. ” [When] an actor gets involved in this profession, we’re attracted by the variety, and eight years is a long time with one character, and I felt as if I went as far as I could go with him, and that was that, really.”

9. Chicago Fire‘s Lauren German (as Leslie Shay)

Fire proved it wasn’t afraid to take risks with its first major cast departure: the death of the lovable paramedic Shay. The loss was especially devastating for her BFF/roomie Severide, who would go on to find solace in a quickie marriage, and her friend/fellow medic Gabby Dawson. Seasons later, Shay’s presence is still felt, courtesy of the ambulance that bears her name, plus the year of her birth and death, in remembrance.

8. Chicago P.D.s Elias Koteas (as Alvin Olinsky)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 5, Episode 22

The elder statesman of the Intelligence unit died after being stabbed in prison, where he sat for Bingham’s murder. “The writers and I kept coming back to this idea that Voight’s decision to kill Bingham should cost him something,” showrunner Rick Eid told TVLine. “Over time, we landed on the notion that Olinsky should be the person to pay for Voight’s sin, because Voight admired and loved him so much.” The death rocked Intelligence — Voight went on a quest to avenge his friend’s murder — and left the unit without Olinsky’s levelheaded wisdom.

7. Chicago Fire‘s Yuri Sardarov (as Brian “Otis” Zvonecek)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 8, Episode 1

After seven seasons, the show killed off Otis in heartbreaking fashion, when he succumbed to injuries sustained in a mattress factory fire. The twist “put some teeth back into” the storytelling and showed “that the dangers are real,” showrunner Derek Haas said. Plus, the death seriously impacted the rest of the firehouse crew, in particular Otis’ BFF Cruz, throughout the rest of the season. And in a sentiment befitting such a longtime series regular and well-liked character, Otis even got a memorial statue outside Firehouse 51.

6. Chicago P.D.‘s Jon Seda (as Antonio Dawson)

First Episode: Chicago Fire Season 1, Episode 3

Last Episode: Chicago P.D. Season 6, Episode 22

What a journey Antonio’s been on: After making his debut on Fire, Seda starred on P.D. for four seasons before transitioning to the short-lived spinoff Chicago Justice. Upon that offshoot’s cancellation, Antonio made his way back home to the Intelligence unit in the Season 5 premiere, but his troubles were just beginning. During the middle of Season 6, it was announced that Seda would not be returning to the police drama due to “creative reasons related to [his character’s] story evolution.” Antonio was written out offscreen, with viewers learning in the Season 7 premiere that he left to get help for a drug relapse. And thanks to an update from his sister Gabby on Fire, we now know that he’s doing well and is working with her organization’s crisis response team in the Bahamas. But we still miss having someone on the Intelligence unit capable of challenging Voight.

5. Chicago Med‘s Colin Donnell (as Connor Rhodes)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 5, Episode 1

To be honest, we still haven’t come to grips with the departure of the charming Donnell, whose surgeon was written out for “creative reasons.” After Connor’s girlfriend Ava admitted to killing his father and then slit her own throat, the doc decided he needed to start over somewhere that he wouldn’t always be tied to this tragedy. “The door is still open for Connor’s character [to return]. He’s alive,” executive producer Andrew Schneider noted. Good, because we miss him dearly!

4. Chicago P.D.‘s Sophia Bush (as Erin Lindsay)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 4, Episode 23

The former P.D. leading lady shocked fans when she exited the NBC drama of her own accord, later revealing that she was “just so unhappy, and it was my dream job, and I was miserable, and I had to go.” Her character was last seen contemplating a job offer at the FBI’s counter-terrorism unit in New York City, while ignoring a call from ex-boyfriend Halstead, who was planning to pop the question! Lindsay’s sudden departure left Halstead with little closure, while Voight lost his surrogate daughter.

3. Chicago Fire‘s Monica Raymund (as Gabby Dawson)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode (as a series regular): Season 6, Episode 23

When Raymund chose to depart the show after six years as its female lead, it sent ripples throughout the firehouse: Casey became a single man again after his and Gabby’s divorce was finalized, and Brett found herself in need of a new ambulance partner… and later in Casey’s arms as the two began a romance.

Although Gabby is running a crisis relief organization in Puerto Rico, she still found time to return to the Windy City in the Season 7 premiere to say goodbye to her husband, then popped up again in a Season 8 episode to hook up with her ex (whose portrayer, Jesse Spencer, would also eventually leave the series).

2. Chicago P.D.‘s Jesse Lee Soffer (as Jay Halstead)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode: Season 10, Episode 3

Honestly, we did not see this one coming. Jesse Lee Soffer revealed in August 2022 that Season 10 would be his last after playing Halstead for a decade, saying in a statement, “To create this hour drama week after week has been a labor of love by everyone who touches the show. I will always be proud of my time as Det. Jay Halstead.”

Soffer departed in Episode 3, titled “A Good Man,” after deciding to return to the military. The Intelligence detective took up a post in Bolivia, where he would lead a squad that tracks down the worst drug cartel targets. And while he assured his wife Hailey Upton that it would only be for eight months, or “maybe a little longer,” the actor’s exit doesn’t bode well for a “Upstead” reunion.

1. Chicago Fire‘s Jesse Spencer (as Matt Casey)

First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1

Last Episode (as a series regular): Season 10, Episode 5

Fire lost both its leading man and Truck 81’s leader when Jesse Spencer exited the NBC drama after playing Captain Matt Casey for a decade. The length of the actor’s tenure on the show, as well as his character’s importance, ensures that he will very likely always top this list of significant cast departures. “It was a difficult decision, because I’ve loved the show from the start,” Spencer told reporters, “but there’s other things that I would like to do in the future, and there’s some family that I need to take care of, and 18 years [on a TV show, going from House directly to Chicago Fire], is a long time.”

As for how Casey left the Windy City, the 200th episode found the firefighter moving to Oregon to take care of his late best friend Andy Darden’s sons. “It felt [like] a perfect full-circle [moment] and a really reasonable way for Casey to, organically, leave the show,” Spencer said, adding that “there is the potential for me to come back.” (And he did indeed return for multiple episodes, including Kara Killmer’s final instatement, during which their characters got married.)

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