It’s felt like an eternity since we last got One Chicago footage. There hasn’t been anything since the summer, and given that production only just resumed, there was uncertainty as to when the franchise would be able to piece enough together for an official teaser. Well, the wait is over, and the first teaser of 2024 is here.
There are lots of exciting shots in the thirty-second promo, and a somber cover of the Tom Petty song “I Won’t Back Down” that really ramps up the dramatic tension, but the real takeaway from the promo is the fact that Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) is finally back.
One Chicago promo teases Stellaride drama
The character is featured prominently in the teaser, and is one of the few characters who can be heard talking. “I’m here,” he can be seen telling his wife Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). “We’re in this together.” The couple then kiss. It’s a perfect way to end the teaser, and to assure fans that the character we’ve come to know and love over the years has still got it.
We’ve already talked about the ways that the Chicago Fire writing team had to work around Taylor Kinney’s absence in season 11, and how some of the decisions they made reflected poorly on the character, but it’s worth noting that the decisions were made on relatively short notice.
The team didn’t have a lot of time to concoct a reason for Severide to be gone for as long as he was, and as such, we’re confident that they will be able to correct some mistakes and restore the character now that Kinney is back in action.
Severide’s decision to withhold information from Kidd was not a wise one, but Kinney has been forthright in the past when it comes to his character’s shortcomings. During the One Chicago Day press junket in 2022, the actor pointed out that Severide can sometimes get in his own head and make impulsive decisions.
“I don’t think it’s too dissimilar from things in the past…it’s a matter of communication,” Kinney noted. [Severide has to get] out of his own way. I think he gets stuck upstairs sometimes where, even if there’s the best of intentions, they seem to fall by the wayside…Stella usually helps ground him.”
