Well, this is more than disappointing.
Just days after it was revealed that Kara Kilmer would be leaving Chicago Fire, the series has confirmed its intention to say goodbye to another series regular.
Alberto Rosende, who has played fan-favorite Blake Gallo since Chicago Fire Season 8, will be written out on the Chicago Fire Season 12 premiere.
The actor was initially employed in a recurring capacity but struck such a chord with viewers that he was upgraded to a full-fledged series regular shortly after.
Losing another familiar face is never a good sign, but the One Chicago universe has many movers and shakers right now.
The only solace we can take from this news is that Rosende will appear in one final episode to bring Blake’s storyline to a close.
The other good news is that we’re convinced Blake will not be killed off because this show likes to deliver shocking twists.
Chicago Fire Season 12: Everything We Know
It’s hard to imagine execs allowing the news to break ahead of time if a big death storyline was in the works.
Rosende will be filming his final scenes on the series as we speak because production ramped up on Chicago Fire and several other Dick Wolf series this week.
Gallo made his presence felt on the series, with Casey (Jesse Spencer) looking out for him after learning of his tragic past.
He’s a decent character, but it seems the show has struggled to know what to do with Gallo after Spencer’s departure as a series regular.
Many questions are up in the air at this stage, but maybe Gallo will leave Chicago and go with Casey to his new hometown and carve out a life there.
That would be fun, right?
There’s also a good chance Kara Kilmer’s Sylvie Brett will be reuniting with Casey.
News broke earlier this month that Kilmer would return for a part of Chicago Fire Season 12 before being written out.
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If you watch Chicago Fire online, you know that Casey popped the question to Brett on the Chicago Fire Season 11 finale.
Their relationship survived several hurdles, but they seemed destined for Splitsville when Casey left town.
It seems absence makes the heart grow fonder because every time they cross paths, they seem more intertwined than before.
Let’s hope they both have a future now that Kilmer is leaving the show.
In other Chicago Fire casting news, Taylor Kinney is staging a comeback as Kelly Severide.
The actor departed to deal with a personal matter earlier this year and was MIA from the rest of the season.
Now that production is underway, details are coming to the surface about who’s in and who’s out.
No reason for the latest exits has been given, but we know that Chicago Fire Season 12 is gearing up to be a truncated affair.
Cast Shifts, Budget Cuts, and Shortened Seasons: Can One Chicago Survive Its Own Changes?
The show and countless other broadcast dramas were pushed to midseason due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
As a result, there isn’t enough time to get full seasons off the ground.
The likely scenario is that the shows are scaling back their casts a bit due to the reduced episodes.
Serving a large ensemble cast isn’t easy to do with so few episodes.
In the wider One Chicago universe, Tracy Spiridakos is being written out of Chicago P.D. as Hailey Upton during the upcoming season.
Chicago Med, which has said goodbye to countless stars over the last year, is welcoming Blindspot veteran Luke Mitchell to its cast.
He’ll be a recurring player initially, but the option is there to promote him to a series regular.
It’s tough being a fan of this universe now with all the people being written out.
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It’ll certainly be fun seeing how the shows navigate this many exits.
There’s also a chance more actors could be on the way out as the broadcast networks grapple with diminished returns.
What are your thoughts on Alberto’s departure as Gallo?
What do you want for his exit storyline?
Hit the comments.
Chicago Fire Season 12 premieres Wednesday, January 17, 2024, at 9 p.m. on NBC.
Deadline first reported the news of Alberto Rosende’s exit.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
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