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Warning: The following contains spoilers from Tuesday’s Chicago Fire
The feud between Chief Boden and firefighter Jimmy Borrelli just cost one of Chicago Fire‘s finest his job.
Steven R. McQueen will no longer be a series regular on the NBC drama after Tuesday’s episode, in which his character Jimmy suffered a career-ending injury, TVLine has learned.
Unable to let go of his belief that Boden was responsible for his brother’s death, Jimmy lost faith in the chief’s leadership and took matters into his own hands during a fire call. In the process, the youngster was badly burned, putting an end to his blaze-battling days.
Below, executive producer Michael Brandt explains why Jimmy had to leave Firehouse 51 — and why even Dick Wolf would leave the show before Boden does.
TVLINE | What drove the decision to say goodbye to Jimmy?
We’ve wrestled with this over the last four years, in terms of threats and real dangers to people in the firehouse. There are times when people get injured, or really bad things happen to them, and we don’t follow through on that, and sometimes we feel like we have to pull the trigger on certain things. With Jimmy’s character, it just felt like he needed to stand up for what he believed in, but Boden needed to stand up for what he believed in, and those two things couldn’t live together. It was driven by the story and who the characters have evolved into.
TVLINE | What kind of discussions did you have with Steven about his character’s trajectory?
Speaking of trajectories, he’s certainly on his way up as an actor, on his way up as a leading man. I have no doubt that someday he will be the lead on his own show. The discussions with Steven were nothing but pleasant. He was a total professional about it. He understood, and I think he’s embracing the opportunity to go and be the No. 1 on his own show.
TVLINE | In deciding who would end up on top in the Jimmy vs. Boden battle, did you ever consider a scenario in which the firehouse loses its chief?
Quite honestly, no. Eamonn [Walker] has been with us since Day 1. He was the first character we cast. He’s Papa Bear in Chicago. I think [executive producers] Derek [Haas], Matt [Olmstead], myself or Dick [Wolf] would all be fired before Eamonn would be. [Laughs] He’s not going anywhere. He’s on the show as long as he wants to be. He’s too much of the rock.
TVLINE | Will we see Jimmy down the road? Or has he burned those bridges too badly to ever salvage them?
Character-wise, you can never burn bridges on a show too badly to not salvage them. He goes out fighting for what he believes in, and there’s nothing wrong with that. At the end of the episode, there’s a scene between him and Boden where you realize everything is OK between them. Boden respects why Jimmy did what he did. But that said, there are no plans right now to bring Jimmy back to the show.
TVLINE | This isn’t the first character to exit on Fire. Is it important for you to have a change-up every couple seasons to keep things fresh?
M*A*S*H comes to mind in terms of great shows where they survived and actually flourished with changes [among] the lead actors and characters. I think that’s part of it. We’re going into our fifth year. Our leads, except for Shay [played by Lauren German], have all stayed, but there is an evolution to the show. It has to go on. So yeah, you do have to freshen things up with your characters from time to time. Every TV show does it, because you kind of have to. You can’t keep telling the same stories over and over. The hardest thing that we do as writers and producers on TV is make changes to the cast. It’s such a family situation in Chicago. But unfortunately, it’s a necessary evil.
TVLINE | There’s been quite a bit of shuffling in terms of who’s on truck and ambo, and now there’s a space open on truck. Will there be any more changes in regards to who’s assigned to what?
No, not as of right now. Truck was a little heavy with characters. We fudged a little the reality of how many people ride on truck, and how many people ride on squad, over the last four years. We have a lot of mouths to feed. We want to make sure that every character gets immediate storylines as often as possible. For now, Dawson’s permanently back on ambo, where I think we all feel like she belongs. She’s so great there — Monica [Raymund] as an actress, and also Dawson as a character. We feel really good about having Kidd on truck and going forward with who we have there.
Chicago Fire fans, will you miss Jimmy? Hit the comments with your thoughts on the character’s farewell.
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I liked Jimmy, and wish that clashing with Boden could have been resolved differently than a convenient injury that takes him out of the show. Even if they planned to have him leave, this was a little much.
Just saw the Episode myself,Mcqueen will WILL be a Leading Man,powerful stuff tonight congrats to him right-wing here we come😎!Jeff PS that should be a N and not an R
So I’m the only one who thinks he was one of the worst actors I’ve ever seen? That’s not hyperbole. I honesty have no idea how this guy gets acting work. He was just a serious drag on this show.
He’s beautiful, and related to Steve McQueen.
I agree that he’s a terrible actor. Although I did think he got better as his character got worse
Hes Steve MC Queens grandson . Stop The Hating .
it gonna suck now goodbye jimmy :(
I don’t think he was there long enough for me to miss him when he’s gone. I still miss Peter Mills I wish they hadn’t written him out.
I miss Peter Mills, too! :)
It’s a little odd that they mentioned Shay being the only lead to leave since he is gone as well! Both were great characters and I miss them.
Don’t think they should have let Steven R. McQueen go!!! I am a big fan of his grandfather & a big fan of Steven’s. Will miss him so much!!
That was a [Spoiler] no one would guess from the headline at all 😂
On another hand, Dawson on ambo is the best, but Kidd may be the characters I’ve disliked most on the show, ever.
Agreed, I don’t like Kidd at all. She’s nothing but an annoyance.
I also agree, she is the first one I’ve not liked.
Agreed! She’s terrible!
I agree with Kidd can’t stand her. Expecially with Severide. He deserves better
I’ll volunteer for the job !
Ummmm… Jimmy was a candidate firefighter who torpedoed his own career. He was never one of the “finest.”
I clapped and cheered that Jimmy’s hard headedness gave him a permanent answer to why he needed to follow directions…. And ushered his boring storyline off of the show. Buh bye one eyed Jimmy.
He’s adorable & I really liked him. But they made him really tough to like towards the end. I’m glad, if he had to leave, that they wrote him out heroically, even if he was going against orders. And happy to hear that the Chief is set for life. At least he’s one character we don’t have to worry about!
as for Jimmy I agree with some other comments I don’t think he was on long enough for me to get really connected, But Steven is a very good actor I wish him the best. As for the show, It is getting harder and harder to watch honestly, Kidd is aggravating and Kelly’s reaction to her is a trite and tired plot line. No clinical psychologist in existence would ever let the object of a patients fixation in the same room with the patient especially after that patient just tried to kill her. That scene was beyond stupid. Dawson continues to irritate as well I get that she doesn’t want to loose that adorable kid, who would? but her complete dismissal of Casey was pretty dang cold even for her. Sorry for the diatribe it was just a frustrating episode tonight. I really hope to see Steven back on TV soon though.
Jimmy had a ton of potential from when he was introduced, he had lieutenant type qualities from day 1, never made a mistake on shift and followed instructions to a tee. They kind of destroyed his character for the sake of a story..
i was pretty indifferent about the Jimmy character. But it was obvious he wouldn’t last long.
Tragic way to end this character…………but a very real one……..will miss Jimmy….
No
An annoying milk face less, very well!
Wut?
???
I knew when they started this Jimmy vs Boden thing there was no way Jimmy was going to stick around. But I thought they’d just ship him off to another firehouse. Maybe bring him back when the character got through his grief and adjusted better. Didn’t think they’d go this far. Was worried though he’d eventually do something to hurt himself or others by not listening to Boden. I was thinking it might just be a near miss or not be permanent damage. This is just sad. No way to go back from that on this show.
My partner and I loved Steven R. McQueen on Chicago Fire. His youthful character had a long way to go on the show as he grew as a person. We were really looking forward to seeing more storylines coming his way in the next few seasons. He was definitely a favorite on the show for both of us.
It seems that he was just getting started when suddenly he was given a bad storyline that really didn’t seem to suit him or to fit well into the show, and then BOOM! He gets horribly disfigured and it’s all over for him. They could have killed him, which would’ve been the merciful thing to do; but instead he is horribly disfigured and his life thus destroyed, at least as far as this show. I don’t want to see him make any return guest appearances unless he has miracle plastic surgery and comes back without a scar. Otherwise it’s just too sad to bear.
I sincerely hope that Steven does get his own show sometime in the future, and that he does some strong guest appearances on other established high-ratings shows in the immediate future. Or in lieu of TV spots or his own show, I’d even perhaps prefer that he move into major film roles, perhaps action films, such as the Bourne franchise.
I wish him a lot of luck in his future endeavors, and hope that he maintains his momentum in his career, with lots of good roles coming his way very soon.
Good luck, Steven! 👍 👬
Isn’t it time for a gay fire fighter? There could be many story lines. After all, they did have a lesbian.
And then killed her 😒. I’d love to see a gay firefighter in the house.
I liked Jimmy at first and I like Steven McQueen but they really ruined his character. I feel like instead of having a revolving door of candidates they could establish a permanent one like Mills was. Oh and get rid of Stella. Can’t stand her.
I’ll miss Jimmy. Was he on the show long enough to qualify for the Chicago Fire Calendar?
Hopefully he finds more work on screen soon. Glad he was professional about his departure.
I’m neither here nor there on Jimmy, he wasn’t around long enough nor was he significant enough for me to get attached to. But I do think a “young” character/member of the house is needed. I loved Mills and while I was indifferent to Jimmy, I think that youthful, new presence brings a lot to the show and the house and the environment.
I know that Severide will probably never be tied down officially unless maybe at the end of the show, but I like him and Stella together and their dynamic. I’ll never get over Shay being gone but I think Stella does a good job at being the “fun” girl in the house.
The episode was kind of meh to me overall but looking forward to what the season has in store for Dawson, Casey, Severide, Boden, and Kidd.
Let Dawson say home and raise that poor kid, make her part time on the show. Why should Child Services approve a Mom who isn’t being a Mom, this story line could finally get Dawson out of our hair.
A mom can’t work? If you think Dawson is going anywhere you should stop watching the show now.
A mom can work but they don’t usually approve a foster mom who works and leaves the child with a sitter. Every sitter would also have to be approved.
I personally know the heads of two sets of foster homes (one married couple, one single parent), and all three of them work full time. One of the foster kids is too young for school, so she stays with my friend’s mom sometimes, or with a sitter the rest of the time.
Is it any of you business to tell people what to do? Let us decide for ourselves whether to watch the show or not. I personally think that Dawson is self-centered and insufferable but I like the rest of the characters on the show and I’ll keep watching it, even if I have to fast-forward all her scenes…
Louie is a troubled kid who needs lots of attention. He’d be better off with a stay-at-home mom. If Dawson cared so much about this boy as she says, I guess, she’d spend time at home with him after shift instead of going to Mollie’s for a drink…
Speaking of Jimmy, I won’t miss him but his character had a great potential that was totally wasted..
I think the character had a lot more potential and McQueen is a fine young actor. Mistake on the shows part.
kind of tiring how yet another guy gets to walk off the show versus all of the female characters that die instead of being able to leave freely “to explore their no.1 lead potential.”
He is such a great actor. He was great on TVD and Fire. Can’t wait to see what he does next.