Fans Were Devastated When Kara Killmer Left Chicago Fire, But Now She's Doing Better Than Ever
"Chicago Fire" fans may still be bummed out over Kara Killmer's exit from the show in 2024, but she's moving forward all the same. Killmer's departure from "Chicago Fire" came 10 years after she joined the cast as Sylvie Brett. The actor has said that the timing made sense for the story, but that didn't make it a breeze to leave; in fact, more than most actors who left "Chicago Fire," Killmer's exit was especially emotional. Killmer told Deadline that filming her final episode, which saw her character marry Matt Casey (played by Jesse Spencer), was "bittersweet, but more sweet than bitter, for sure."
Of course, some of her co-stars agreed with the bittersweet nature of her departure. In a video shared by the One Chicago Instagram account, a number of "Chicago Fire" cast members shared their well-wishes for the actor. Series OG Christian Stolte lamented, "A significant part of life is doing things you don't want to do, and what I really don't want to do right now is say goodbye to my sweet, brilliant, talented friend, Kara Killmer." While we have no doubt her fans and former co-stars would prefer to see her back at Firehouse 51, her projects since leaving the show have been pretty exciting, too. In 2025, it was announced that she'd been cast in the Jimmy Stewart biopic, "Jimmy," and she looks great in images from the period piece.
Kara Killmer's first major project since she left "Chicago Fire" is a star-studded one. The actor plays a love interest in "Jimmy," which also features "Riverdale" alum KJ Apa in the lead role. Other stars in the biopic include "Desperate Housewives" alum Neal McDonough, "Seinfeld" star Jason Alexander, and "Tulsa King" actor Max Casella, so it's pretty clear the actor was in some seriously impressive company.
Kara Killmer has a major role in 'Jimmy'
Kara Killmer portrays a character named Lady Julia in "Jimmy," and the role gave the actor a chance to show off multiple talents. Fans of the One Chicago universe who already knew about her singing chops were thrilled to see Killmer performing on stage in the film's trailer. Perhaps Killmer is destined to become the next face of musicals; NBC News called her voice "Broadway-ready" back in 2024, after all.
Of course, even with Killmer's work after "Chicago Fire," many of her fans are still pining for a return to Firehouse 51. That's made abundantly clear by a quick glance at the comments on her Instagram. Even after taking to her page to share details about Jimmy Stewart and an initiative to spread kindness in honor of the late actor and war hero, countless "Chicago Fire" viewers couldn't resist pleading for her return. "We miss you on Chicago Fire!! Please make an appearance very soon!!" wrote one. "We miss Sylvie," penned another. Someone else even declared, "Now you're not in Chicago Fire I don't watch it anymore ... I only watch reruns when you guys were in it."
Fortunately for them, in her aforementioned Deadline interview, Killmer hinted at being open to future guest appearances. "I think we've proven that we love to see familiar faces come back through which is also very true of a real firehouse ... I could see that happening and I would be more than happy to pop back in," she said. Here's hoping the "One Chicago" production team sees the comments and plans for her cameo at some point (that is, if Killmer isn't already singing her way through another role by then).