Chicago Fire will now have three cast members leaving the show when it returns for season 14.
Michael Bradway, who has had a recurring role as Jack Damon, won’t be returning to the NBC drama, according to TVLine. This comes after Bradway, 26, was cast in Prime Video’s series adaptation of Carley Fortune’s Every Summer After, which begins production this month.
Damon is the latest firefighter to depart Firehouse 51 after it was previously announced that Jake Lockett, who plays Sam Carver, and Daniel Kyri, who is known for his role as Darren Ritter, will not be returning as series regulars. Brandon Larracuente was subsequently brought on as a full-time cast member.
One Chicago fans have gotten used to seeing their favorite characters come and go from Chicago Fire, Chicago Med and Chicago P.D. over the years. After there were some questions about the franchise’s revolving door of cast members, NBC’s president of program planning Jeff Bader explained why he wasn’t concerned.
“Cast comes in, cast goes out,” Bader told TVLine in an interview published in July 2024. “It’s interesting. Because every year there are cast changes, and every year someone asks the same question about what’s going on within the One Chicago universe. But [those shows] just keep going on.”
Bader pointed out that each of the Chicago shows have continued to find success, adding, “We’re thrilled with how the Chicagos do on Wednesday. We have no plans on changing anything on that night.”
Before the news of Bradway’s exit, showrunner Andrea Newman teased onscreen shakeups ahead of the next season.
“We’re going to have a lot of turnover,” Newman told TVLine in May. “And a lot craziness going on in the CFD from the top, where people are being cut and moved, and everything’s going to get shaken up next season. There will be hellos, and there will be goodbyes. I’ll say that. That’s for sure.”
Newman also made it clear that nothing is guaranteed.
“There’s nobody safe in this shakeup,” Newman explained to TV Insider that same month. “So next season is going to be about how the s*** really hits the fan once that mandate comes down and how things get shaken up and how our team can hold together as a family while all this craziness is happening around them.”
While most Chicago Fire cast members haven’t addressed their departures, Lockett, 40, confirmed reports that his character wouldn’t be back.
“While I don’t exactly know what the future looks like, I do know that it won’t be exactly what it was and I am going to miss the hell out of that,” he wrote via Instagram in April ahead of season 14. “So much pride in this journey.”
Lockett continued: “It’s been an honor bringing Sam to life and to every one of you, thank you for the love and support over the past three years.”
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