Why Charlie Barnett Isn't On Chicago Fire Anymore

The choice to leave "Chicago Fire" was not one that Charlie Barnett made himself. One day during filming, producers took Barnett aside and broke the bad news to him. "I hadn't heard anything about it and then they pulled me into a room, sat me down and apologized," he told the Herald-Tribune in 2015. The

The choice to leave "Chicago Fire" was not one that Charlie Barnett made himself. One day during filming, producers took Barnett aside and broke the bad news to him. "I hadn't heard anything about it and then they pulled me into a room, sat me down and apologized," he told the Herald-Tribune in 2015. The decision had nothing to do with on-set drama, or with Barnett's performance, as the showrunners felt Peter Mills' story arc had reached its natural conclusion. "They felt that Peter had reached a plateau and the writers didn't know where to take him," Barnett added.

"Chicago Fire" executive producer Matt Olmstead confirmed the reason for Barnett's exit was simply character-based. "It came solely from a storytelling standpoint," he told several outlets at the time, per the Herald. The show's writers had created new characters, and believed they needed to make space to develop them. "It was solely based on bringing in new people for new stories. Otherwise it turns into a clown car," Olmstead told TV Guide in 2015.

When Barnett was informed he was being written off the show, he asked the producers if he could be the one to break the news to the crew. "They took it hard, but it's part of the business," he told the Herald. In the end, Barnett took his departure in stride. "I wasn't mad. I got so much from the show," he said.

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