Chicago Fire‘s Daniel Kyri seems to be returning for a period of time for the NBC procedural’s 14th season.
Earlier today, the actor posted a selfie to his Instagram Story opposite co-stars Jocelyn Hudon and Hanako Greensmith with the caption: “Back! For a limited time only,” alongside a peace sign emoji. In another behind-the-scenes image, Kyri could be seen decked out in firefighter gear next to fellow cast members David Eigenberg, Christian Stolte, Miranda Rae Mayo and newcomer Brandon Larracuente.
NBC had no further comment on the matter. Deadline has reached out to Kyri’s reps for additional details.
As we reported exclusively earlier this April, Kyri is exiting the mothership series after Season 13, alongside fellow series regular Jake Lockett. The actor, who has also appeared in One Chicago shows Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med, began his tenure on the Wolf Entertainment drama as recurring character Darren Ritter. A well-respected firefighter, his storyline recently revolved around his relationship with Officer Dwayne Monroe (Samuel B. Jackson).
Showrunner Andrew Newman told our sister publication TVLine in May that while there isn’t a set plan for addressing Kyri’s departure, there are “lots of possibilities” plot-wise, which includes last season’s finale hint at layoffs within the department.
“We’re going to have a lot of turnover,” Newman said, “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.”
The actor exits are believed to be part of an effort to trim the budget of Chicago Fire, which also faces negotiations with many of the series’ veteran cast members whose contracts are up. As such, sources told Deadline that the drama, which films in the Windy City, has asked cast to take on Illinois residency, with episode counts expected to dwindle otherwise. Additionally, some cast members will have to forego their annual 5% raise, per sources, as long-running shows inevitably become more expensive over time.
In May, NBC renewed its trio of Chicago series, also picking up Chicago P.D. for Season 13 and Chicago Med for Season 11. Though the overall 2025-26 orders are still in flux, the seasons may be shorter next year, reflecting an ongoing trend in broadcast TV to save networks money.
Dozens of seasons in collectively, the One Chicago franchise represents one of NBC’s best performing slates on both linear and streaming.
