Why Yuri Sardarova Otis quit Chicago Fire in season 8

It's a well-known truth that every good network drama needs to kill off at least one fan-favorite character an extremely gloomy way, cry yourself until you're dehydrated at least once every few seasons. Speaking of “Chicago Fire,” one of the biggest character deaths happened in the early moments of Season 8, which claimed the life of Brian “Otis” Zvonecki.

Judging by the many online comments that refer to Otis as a real person (seriously, watch any YouTube video of the guy), the character who's been with Truck 81 since the show's pilot might be the most beloved “Chicago Fire” character of all time . The child of Russian immigrants was funny and sometimes underrated, and in time he became a highly coveted engineering position. He also had close ties to many of the other main characters, so when Chicago Fire's decided powers needed to up the ante with real, deadly stakes, Otis bit the dust.

At the end of “Chicago Fire” season 7, it is clear that someone is on the grave. The season ends on a cliffhanger as a fire crew battles an out-of-control blaze at a mattress factory. When Season 8 returned, the show didn't waste much time revealing that its storyline had a heartbreaking victim: Yuri Sardarova's Otis. The team is shown pulling him out of the burning factory after the boiler explodes, and from the way it's filmed and the shock and sadness on his co-workers' faces, it's pretty clear that Otis isn't likely to recover.

Otis later dies in the hospital after an emotional Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) pleads with him, asking Otis to make room in heaven for his best friend. Otis' last words to Cruz are, “Brother, I'll always be with you.” In season 10, Cruise's wife Chloe (Kristen Gutosky) gives birth to a child named Brian, but the couple decide to name him Otis in reference to the man who was Cruise's brother. All of this is extremely sad because there can only be lengthy network procedures for first responders.

In interview with TVLine in 2019series co-creator Derek Haas said that he and the show's writers room wanted to kill off a character after the fire team. spent so many seasons escape a near-death experience with your life. “We have to go back to the show, and we have to show that the danger is real,” Haas recalled telling head writers Michael Gilvary and Andrea Newman during the summer break. Haas admitted that he was initially unsure who, if anyone, might die in the mattress factory fire when writing the Season 7 finale, but he spent about an hour talking to executive producers Dick Wolf and Peter Jankowski about the idea of ​​a kill. at Otis.

“Dick, who has more experience than anyone in the world, said, 'As long as you're honest with the story, the audience will go with you,'” Haas told TVLine. He also said that the writers considered killing off Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyrie) at one point, but wanted to be a main cast member, not a relatively new addition who could be considered doomed from the start. “We just decided it was going to be Otis because he lives with Cruz and Brett, and he's in Casey's truck, and he's in Boden's house, and he's best friends with Mouk, and he owns a bar with Herrmann,” Haas explained, noting that the fan. -Favorite is one of the only characters , whose death would affect all the other characters and expand into future seasons.

Haas told TVLine that he personally broke the news to Sardarov, who had been his friend since before their “Chicago Fire” days. “From a personal standpoint, as a showrunner, it's really hard to tell an actor, 'Hey, we mean it,' when you know him not only as a really great actor, but as just a good person and friend. Haas said, but he also said Sardarov is “professional” and “gracious” — in part because he, too, is a writer who understands the idea of ​​doing something for a good story.

Otis' death episode included a three-month time jump that both allowed his colleagues to try to move on and revealed just how vital he was to Firehouse 51. Episodes later, viewers meet Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende), a young firefighter with a tragic backstory and willingness to dive into any rescue situation regardless of danger. While it takes a while for the team to get used to Gallo and him not serving as a 1-on-1 replacement for Otis, the character eventually becomes a part of the team. Gallo spent 80 episodes of “Chicago Fire” (almost exactly half as many episodes as Otis) and eventually moved to Michigan to bond with his newfound extended family. Customs deadline praised that he decided to move on from the show.

While Gallo is the most obvious replacement for Otis in terms of time, recent seasons of “Chicago Fire” have introduced several new cast members, some of whom have become fan favorites. Danielle Kyrie Ritter stayed on after her Season 7 debut (and became one half of the dynamic duo with Gallo), and Sam Carver (Jake Lockett) also joined the team. This season, “My Best Friend's Wedding Actor” and secretly super talented cellist Dermot Mulroney came on board as the new boss of Firehouse 51, while Adrian Ray, Jocelyn Haddon and Hanako Greensmith have been cast as medics since Otis' death in Season 8.

It's worth noting that while series co-creator Derek Haas takes credit for killing off Otis, Sardarov has also indicated that he's ready to move on from the show after years on the same project. In interview for Tell Tale TV In 2019, he admitted: “It was difficult, but it was necessary. It was a combination of me wanting to move forward and them needing something like what was going to happen. And I think those two things came together at the perfect time. “

Sardarov recalled talking to Haas at the end of Season 7, who he said he first worked with when he was in college. From the sounds of it, he thought it was good for him to leave in the same conversation that Haas was putting Otis through. as a character who could give Season 8 its big, important premiere death. “We had a discussion about the character and where he was going and I was very clear to him that it's been eight years and I started when I was 22 and now I'm 31,” he said. “The communication was very open and honest and we both walked away from it feeling really good.”

“He's early in his career and this is by no means his swan song,” Haas told TVLine, speaking positively of Sardarov. It's true: Since leaving “Chicago Fire,” the actor has already taken on other roles, including guest appearances on “The Rookie” and “FBI: International” and roles on “Adam,” “Daddy” and “Amy and Peter's Divorce.” Plus, Haas was right about the tear-jerking twist — six years later, it's still one of the show's most talked-about moments.