Why Did Chicago Fire Kill Off Otis?

Over the course of its 12 seasons, Chicago Fire has killed off surprisingly few major characters, but the ones it did… Those were some atrocious choices: the absolute fan favorites, suffering gruesome deaths just when things looked perfectly normal.

One such death was Otis: the kind, compassionate, and funny firefighter was extremely popular both with his colleagues and with fans, and everyone loved him.

Otis’ death came unexpectedly and quickly, leaving us devastated — but what was the reason for Chicago Fire to kill off such an amazing and beloved character?

Otis’ Actor Didn’t Want to Quit the Show

Often, procedurals say sudden goodbyes to their characters when their actors have personal problems or simply want to drop out of the show. Sometimes, they just don’t get their contracts renewed, like happened in another heartbreaking case with Leslie Shay.

But with Otis, it was nothing like that: Yuri Sardarov didn’t want to quit Chicago Fire and neither did he have any personal reasons to leave. He was forced out.

“We just said, ‘We gotta put some teeth back into the show, and we gotta show that the dangers are real.’ I called Dick Wolf and I said, ‘We’re thinking about killing off Otis.’ <...> So that was it,” showrunner Derek Haas shared with TVLine.

Essentially, Otis was killed off for no reason other than Chicago Fire needing to raise its stakes and add some serious tragedy. But again, why did it have to be Otis?

Otis Was the Most Devastating Loss

Even though the TV show wanted to deliver a major gut-wrenching hit to its fans, there was seemingly little reason to target Otis, specifically. Chicago Fire has always boasted quite a roster of compelling characters, with many to choose from in this “we need someone really cool, really dead” situation. But Otis was the best choice.

“We just decided it would be Otis because he lives with Cruz and Brett, and he’s on Casey’s truck, and he’s in Boden’s house, and he’s best friends with Mouch, and owns a bar with Herrmann… There are a million feelings that everybody has from a guy who’s been on the show from almost the first scene,” Haas explained.

What can we say? Logical, calculated, and cold. We still miss Otis, but the reasoning makes sense… From the writer’s perspective, of course, not from the fan’s.

Source: TVLine