Rome Flynn finally opens up about his sudden Chicago Fire exit

Derrick Gibson was poised to be a major player on Chicago Fire. The character was brought in as a replacement for Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende), and it was established pretty quickly that he had a fascinating past to delve into.

Gibson was a troubled guy, which made the gradual peeling back of his emotional layers all the more fascinating. He felt different from the rest of the 51 in a way that made him enigmatic, and his bond with Sam Carver (Jake Lockett) seemed like an anchor that could drive the show for seasons to come. Then, it was over.

Rome Flynn left Fire after 6 episodes

CHICAGO FIRE — “Call Me McHolland” Episode 12002 — Pictured: (l-r) Rome Flynn as Derrick Gibson, Christian Stolte as Randy McHolland — (Photo by: Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC) /

Gibson crumbled under the pressure of wanting to perform on the job, and wound up asking to be let go in the season 12 episode “All the Dark.” The character didn’t even make it a full season before the plug was pulled on his firefighting career, and we were all left a little dumbstruck.

It turns out that Rome Flynn, the actor who plays Gibson, was similarly saddened by the character’s short stint. He issued a statement to Variety following the airing of “All the Dark”, where he said that he would have liked to have spent more time exploring Gibson’s life:

“Just like all the fans, I was sad to see Gibson leave. He was a character I very much enjoyed playing. I hope to team up with Dick Wolf again when the time is right.”

The actor was ‘sad’ to see his character go

CHICAGO FIRE — “Port in the Storm” Episode 12006 — Pictured: (l-r) Rome Flynn as Gibson, Jesse Spencer as Matt Casey — (Photo by: Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC) /

Flynn’s comment about reuniting with Dick Wolf down the line is intriguing because it could mean any number of things. It could mean that he would resurface in a Law & Order or FBI show as a completely different character, given how much Wolf likes to use the same actors, or it could mean that Gibson will resurface at some point within Chicago Fire.

Unfortunately, Gibson’s fate, and the troubled state he’s currently in, suggest that seeing him fight fires again is a long shot. He has a lot to go through before he can start leading a stable life, and we hope that he manages to come out the other side, regardless of whether we get to see him again.