One Chicago Stars Talk Romance, From Will’s Past & Present to a Potential ‘Fire’ Wedding

Taylor Kinney and Miranda Rae Mayo Chicago Fire - Severide and Stella - Season 8
Preview
Adrian S. Burrows Sr./NBC

What better way to celebrate One Chicago Day (February 10) than with scoops from the stars of MedFire, and P.D.?

Cast members from the three shows sat down to preview their characters narratives and, of course that includes their relationships. What will it take for firefighter Casey (Jesse Spencer) and paramedic Brett (Kara Killmer) to get together? Is there another Fire wedding in the future? Is there love in the future for P.D.‘s Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins), after his powerful storyline standing against the Blue Wall earlier in the season?

Med Choice

While there is “zero” love coming for Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) and “possibilities” for Ethan on Med, Will’s (Nick Gehlfuss) love life is much more complicated.

There’s “someone new, but maybe someone old” coming up, Gehlfuss teased, naming both the doctor he’s getting to know through his new clinical trial, Dr. Sabeena Virani (Tehmina Sunny), and ex-fiancée Natalie (Torrey DeVitto). “They’re growing together, naturally,” he said of the former. “But as he gets closer to someone else, is he going to be reminded of his past? Which direction will he go?”

Nick Gehlfuss Chicago Med Will Halstead Season 6

Elizabeth Sisson/NBC

Complicated Sparks at 51

Speaking of the past, Casey’s ex-wife Gabby (Monica Dawson) managed to throw a wrench in his slow-burn relationship with Brett before it could really get started — without even appearing! The paramedic decided she couldn’t be with him because of Gabby.

“Brett has always had, in terms of her feelings for Casey, a suspicion she would never compare to Gabby and therefore it was always easy to convince herself, ‘there’s nothing going on there, he doesn’t feel this way for me,'” Killmer explained. But Casey running to her and Mackey’s (Adriyan Rae) rescue after their ambulance crashed “was her first, ‘You do like me.'”

Still, she can’t forget about his ex (who was also her best friend). “Casey’s encouraged her to prioritize herself and her needs” as opposed to “changing herself to match the person she’s with,” Killmer noted, and in refusing to “be a consolation prize” in case Gabby ever shows up again — and Casey unable to say he no longer has feelings for his ex — her character did just that.

But for Spencer, it’s not “black and white,” he said. “Casey can feel that love [for Gabby] but want to move on, but that doesn’t necessarily make it true. … To be with Brett, Casey has to learn to bury [those] residual feelings and regrets.”

Casey Brett Mackey Rescue Ambulance Crash Chicago Fire

Adrian S. Burrows Sr./NBC

Potential new love interests have been introduced for both Casey (a woman he rescued on a call) and Brett (a firefighter from another house). “They go on a couple dates,” Casey said of the new woman in the captain’s life. “It comes out of nowhere. He said he’s going to give Brett some space, but what does that mean? Are they going to go out and start dating other people full-time?”

These new characters are “roadblocks,” Killmer agreed, warning, “we have some serious angst coming your way.”

After all, no matter what Casey does, she may never be able to get past the major obstacle in their path right now. (He’s already done the grand gesture of saving her.) “There’s always the possibility because of girl code, it doesn’t matter what he says,” Killmer continued. “She’ll just be like, ‘There is no regardless of Gabby, period, no matter how much I love you.’ But I doubt it.”

Time to Put a Ring on It?

Could Stella (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Severide (Taylor Kinney) be the next Fire wedding? Well, first she has to find out why he’s pulling away (so the higher-ups know she’s not climbing the ranks because of their relationship).

His need to fix things “holds the relationship back,” Kinney admitted. After all, Stella can tell he’s hiding something because he’s coming up with the worst excuses every time she approaches him about preparing for the lieutenant’s exam. “He’s just not good at communicating,” the actor continued. “Hopefully he comes to his senses and it works out and he talks to her.”

Stellaride Chicago Fire Season 8 Severide Stella

(Adrian S. Burrows Sr./NBC)

Mayo even understood why he might have held off on telling her one of the chiefs attributed her success to him — at first. “He totally could’ve chose not to tell her when she was so excited but then later that night,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be this either or.”

If they do get past this, might there be a proposal coming? It sounds like it’s likely, but Kinney knows his character has to “use his words and talk. It’d be a Severide move to hide a ring in a glove box in the car and be like, ‘She’ll open it, she’ll find it, and if she doesn’t, then she must not want to marry me and we’re done,'” he laughed. “Hopefully if it does come to it, he comes up with a better plan than not speaking.”

P.D.‘s Inter-Team Relationships

For the characters of the cop drama, they don’t need to look far for love. For example, Jay (Jesse Lee Soffer) dated his previous partner, Erin (Sophia Bush), and is now with his current partner, Hailey (Tracy Spiridakos). Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) also dated Hailey and was engaged to Burgess (Marina Squerciati).

While all the inter-team romances “might seem ridiculous to the TV audience,” it doesn’t to Flueger. “These people live and breathe this job and this life and each other every single day,” he explained.

LaRoyce Hawkins Season 8 Chicago PD Kevin Atwater

(Matt Dinerstein/NBC)

Atwater, however, has been very unlucky in love – and Hawkins doesn’t see that changing for his character. “I thought Rojas [played by Lisseth Chavez, who left after last season] was an interesting person and as much as I liked her, I don’t even know if she liked me back,” he said. “Atwater’s love is in his community.”

Chicago Med, Wednesdays, 8/7c, NBC

Chicago Fire, Wednesdays, 9/8c, NBC

Chicago P.D., Wednesdays, 10/9c, NBC