‘Chicago Fire’ 300: Taylor Kinney Reflects on the Milestone He Never Thought He’d Hit and His ‘Visceral’ Goodbye to Joe Cruz

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Taylor Kinney never thought he’d be here. The 300th episode of “Chicago Fire,” titled “Three Hundred,” wasn’t a milestone that was on his mind — mostly because it seemed impossible that he’d be starring on a show for 15 seasons.

“I remember going to Upfronts in New York, going into Season 2 or 3, and running into Mariska Hargitay. She had just got done negotiating her deal for season 16 or 17, and that was a whole other thing — it wasn’t even in my brain that something like that would be possible, let alone in the cards,” says Kinney, who has been on “Chicago Fire” since its start in 2012.

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To this point, he’s appeared in every single episode of Dick Wolf’s firefighter drama, which kicked off the One Chicago franchise. “Chicago P.D.” is currently in its 14th season, while “Chicago Med” is in Season 12.

It becomes even more surreal when he thinks of his start in the business, consistently filming pilots and never knowing whether any would get picked up. “In L.A. I didn’t have a vehicle. I was on public transit, and catching thumb rides to auditions and castings all over the city,” he remembers. “I was at Kinko’s printing out my resumes and headshots. So I’m just grateful.”

The episode is an extremely emotional one, as it marks the last for Joe Miñoso’s Joe Cruz, who has also been on the show since the beginning. Luckily, he won’t be leaving the family completely. “Joe has been an integral part of ‘Chicago Fire’ since day one and he will always be part of the Wolf family. We are very excited he is scheduled to direct his first episode of television later this year,” says executive producer Peter Jankowski, who also serves as COO of Wolf Entertainment.

Kinney adds he had a “visceral, raw” reaction to filming the final Severide and Cruz scene. “It’s one of those things that I’ll never forget. We spend a lot of time together, and at times, more than family. Starting out, these were 15- to 16-hour days, sometimes six days a week,” he says. “Joe’s been my right-hand man for the past almost a decade, and there’s a lot of time spent looking someone in the eye, telling the truth. It’s just an intimate relationship. So to have a scene where the art imitates life and vice versa… it was raw, it was real, and it was honest. I cherish that moment, and that’ll be with me forever.”

With any procedural on the air for this long, keeping the stories new and interesting could be quite the challenge — but it’s something Jankowski isn’t worried about. “The firehouse stories will stay fresh as long as our characters remain real and grounded,” he says. “The way viewers experience our shows has changed with technology. When we began the series 14 years ago, most people saw us exclusively on NBC. Today, we do well on Peacock and are active on social media.”

When figuring out what makes the show work year after year, it comes back to the community of “Chicago Fire,” says NBC chairman Pearlena Igbokwe: “There’s something incredibly powerful about watching these characters put themselves on the line for others and, just as importantly, show up for one another. That bond is what has made Firehouse 51 feel like home to audiences and helped One Chicago continue to welcome new fans year after year. Dick Wolf’s vision, and the tremendous commitment of our writers, producers, cast and crew, have made ‘Chicago Fire’ a modern-day television classic.”

The 300th episode of “Chicago Fire” airs on November 4 at 9 p.m. ET. on NBC.