'Chicago Fire' Season 9: What Adriyan Rae's addition to the cast as a new paramedic could bring to the show
This year, NBC's 'Chicago' franchise is returning with its new seasons later than usual because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which also ended the previous seasons earlier than expected. Among them, 'Chicago Fire' is the first and oldest show in the franchise and is set to begin its ninth season this November, while 'Chicago PD' will start its eighth season and 'Chicago Med' will start its ninth season.
Having been on television for more than eight years, 'Chicago Fire' has seen many cast shakeups and more recently during the season premiere of Season 8 when an original character, Brian "Otis" Zvonecek (Yuri Sardarov) died after being caught in a factory fire explosion giving us a shocking exit. It was a heartbreaking start to the season for viewers, but since then, 'Chicago Fire' had some excellent moments in which it paid tributes to the character. Even the addition of a new firefighter, Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende), was done in a way that Otis was remembered and honored.
Before Otis's exit, there was Gabriela "Gabby" Dawson's (Monica Raymund) departure to Haiti at the beginning of Season 7, ending fans' longterm wish for a Dawsey happy ending. The other half of Dawsey, Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) is still moving on which is a testament to how important Gabby was to the show.
Here's the unfortunate thing: the new season of 'Chicago Fire' will also open with the departure of a character, although we are not sure whether it will be shown onscreen or referred to as some offscreen event. Emily Foster (Annie Ilonzeh) originally joined as Gabby's replacement and she fit in well with the rest of Firehouse 51. At the end of Season 8, Emily was shown reigniting her interest in going back to medical school, even going for an admissions interview. We did not get to know the results of that interview before the season ended prematurely, but given everything we know now, we can say with certainty that Emily Foster is indeed going to leave Firehouse 51.
Adriyan Rae ('Vagrant Queen') has been added to the cast for the upcoming season of 'Chicago Fire' and she is set to play the new character, Gianna Mackey, who is also a paramedic. From the description, Gianna seems very much like Emily -- she is something of a troublemaker, treats those around her as family, and she likes a little bit of chaos. Now, since we don't know the reason for Ilonzeh's exit, it could be because the writers wanted a different character.
This is unfortunate, because of the lot, Emily was one of the most underdeveloped characters -- there was not much that the show focused on except for her friendship with Sylvie Brett (Kara Kilmer), with the medical school storyline coming in towards the end of Season 8 and her bisexuality being mentioned only in passing.
Perhaps 'Chicago Fire' felt like they had gotten everything they could out of Emily and possibly wanted to start fresh. Enter Gianna who is like a blank slate as of now because we do not know much about her. Will she, like Emily, be an LGBTQ+ character? Will we get to see more of Gianna's personal life like we got to see for Sylvie last season? It will also be interesting to see how the dynamics between the women of Firehouse 51 will change with the addition of Gianna. Sylvie and firefighter Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) were very close to Emily, so will they view Gianna as an outside or welcome her with open arms? We also hope that this gives 'Chicago Fire' new ways to explore female friendships.
'Chicago Fire' Season 9 will premiere on NBC on Wednesday, November 11, at 8/7c.