Chicago Fire (season 8)
The eighth season of "Chicago Fire", an American drama television series with executive producer Dick Wolf, and producers Derek Haas and Matt Olmstead, was ordered on February 26, 2019, by NBC. The season premiered on September 25, 2019. The season concluded on April 15, 2020. On March 13, 2020, the production of the eighth season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 20 episodes, of a planned 23, were completed. Episodes. <onlyinclude> </onlyinclude> Production. The season premiere featured the departure of original character Brian "Otis" Zvonecek, played by Yuri Sardarov. Executive producer  Derek Haas explained that after the seventh season, they were not sure how they would handle the conclusion to the mattress factory fire. They realised that they had placed characters in danger before having them saved too many times. Haas continued, "The audience has to be reminded that these calls are dangerous and sometimes people don't make it. We thought, what if we killed off Otis and he dies heroically? We realized there was so much emotional landscape we could cover." Haas spoke with "Chicago" creator Dick Wolf about the decision first, before informing Sardarov that he was being  written out. Sardarov agreed to return for the eighth-season premiere. Haas confirmed that he considered killing off Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri), but as he was only introduced in the seventh season, his death would not have the same impact as an original cast member. Otis' death also gave the writers the chance to script a memorial at the firehouse which had not been done in the series before. Haas hoped that Sardarov would agree to reprise the role for future appearances. Another ongoing storyline follows Paramedic Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer), who has left Chicago with her fiancé Kyle Sheffield  (Teddy Sears) for a small town in Indiana. Haas wanted "to follow through with her agreeing to marry Kyle." He also wanted to bring back her former friend Hope Jacquinot (Eloise Mumford) for the storyline. Actor Alberto Rosende joins the cast in the recurring role of firefighter Blake Gallo. Haas said the show needed "fresh energy" and called the character a "junior Casey/junior Severide". He added that not everyone in the house is keen on bringing Blake in. On December 13, 2019 it was announced that Rosende was upped to a series regular. On October 30, 2019, it was  announced that former main cast member Monica Raymund would be returning as Gabriela Dawson for the mid-season finale in episode 9, “Best Friend Magic,” on November 20, 2019. On April 16, 2020, it was announced that Annie Ilonzeh, who plays Emily Foster has left the series after two seasons. Crossover. The fourth episode of the season begins a crossover event with "Chicago Med" and "Chicago P.D.". Derek Haas and Dick Wolf wrote the story for all three parts and Haas wrote the teleplay for part one. The plot revolves around "a mysterious illness". Another crossover with "P.D." aired on  February 26 and included the return of Brian Geraghty as Sean Roman.