Chicago Fire Has To Get Rid Of Pretty Privilege And Focus On Character Development Instead
Too many shows suffer from this, but Chicago Fire puts it in focus.
Imagine Grey's Anatomy with all the doctors being completely competent, or Law & Order with lawyers and detectives actually doing their jobs. These shows wouldn't have as many seasons and wouldn't be as interesting to watch if everything was done the way it's supposed to be done.
The same goes for the firefighters on Chicago Fire. They make mistakes, just like real people do, and the audience is usually okay with that, because those mistakes give them a basis for more seasons to come.
The only thing that makes fans' minds race and their blood boil is when not all characters are held to the same standard of accountability.
It's no secret that the show has always been very focused on the two leaders of the group, Matthew Casey and Kelly Severide. Both are very professional, strong and handsome men who hold the cast together. No matter how many mistakes they made and how many times they were in the wrong, they almost never suffered any consequences.
At this point, fans have every right to assume that this is due to the actors' success and the blind producers' guess that the audience wants to see them in some kind of relationship, no matter what.
In the end, Chicago Fire viewers were subjected to seeing both unit leaders make very unprofessional and risky decisions to deal with their personal matters.
Not only that, but both Casey and Severide are fully aware of their positions and come across as arrogant and rude.
Now that Jesse Spencer, who portrayed Casey on the show, is officially out, and Taylor Kinney, who portrayed Severide, is next in line, Chicago Fire needs to take a step back and re-evaluate its approach to character creation.
There can't be another Casey and Severide duo, so the only real way to keep the show afloat is to start putting some real effort in.
Otherwise, this may be the last we see of Chicago Fire.