'Chicago Fire' star Kara Killmer says goodbye to NBC series (2024)

Kara Killmer is bidding farewell to the One Chicago universe in her final episode of NBC’s Chicago Fire set to air Wednesday.

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Killmer, 35, has played paramedic Sylvie Brett on Chicago Fire since 2014. As she exits, Sylvie will wed firefighter Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer).

“I think this is a natural conclusion for the arc of Sylvie’s character,” Killmer told TVLine in an interview. “I sort of love that she started her journey [when] she was dumped at the altar by her high school boyfriend and runs off to Chicago to start over again,” Killmer said. “And I love that she ends up across the aisle from the love of her life and, obviously, the most eligible bachelor in all of Chicago and Portland.”

She added, “It’s just so satisfying to get to see her have everything that she always wanted and to see the kind of woman she’s become, the sort of paramedic she’s become. She’s really stepped into her own, and so, this is a natural conclusion for her.”

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Killmer’s departure was set in motion in the Season 12 premiere after she confirmed she had accepted Matt’s proposal and was moving to Portland to start their new life together. “Matt and I talked it through, and the truth is, we’ve waited long enough to be together full-time,” her character said.

In the lead-up to her departure, Killmer shared a carousel of photos to Instagram in November 2023 documenting her years on the show and reflected, “These are the very first few pictures I took, or was tagged in, when I first came to Chicago. Going up in the Squad 1 basket was my first exposure to the CFD — some of the best firefighters in the country! The view from my very first apartment was absolutely stunning and the beginning of a love affair with the gorgeous city of Chicago!”

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In a separate chat with Deadline, Killmer called her departure “kind of a perfect bookend.”

“This is the natural end for her character,” Killmer told the outlet. “I just love that her character has been able to come full circle and it’s it’s such a great way to exit her journey. It’s sort of perfect timing.”

Killmer called shooting the episode bittersweet, but added it was “more sweet than bitter, for sure.”

But Killmer told Deadline that she was grateful that producers brought Spencer (who left the series in late 2021) back to help wrap up her character’s arc.

“The relationship that they had had this like three-year build-up. And I think the writers and the fans all kind of felt like he’s the one. We tried for a year or two for a whole season to see if she could get over him. She dated Dylan and tried to move on and I think everybody was just like, ‘What is this? This will not do.’ No one would accept it, including Sylvie. I think that those two characters were, as they repeatedly say, they were meant to be. So it’s only appropriate that she would end up with him, which I’m so satisfied with,” she said.

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And even though she’s saying goodbye, Killmer isn’t permanently closing the door on returning for a cameo in a future episode.

“You never know what’s going to happen at 51,” Killmer said. “I think we’ve proven that we love to see familiar faces come back through which is also very true of a real firehouse. It’s a brotherhood and a family bond for life. I could see that happening and I would be more than happy to pop back in.”

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays on NBC and Citytv.

mdaniell@postmedia.com

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