Chicago Fire showrunner reveals why Severide hasn't gotten a promotion

Chicago Fire fans are baffled as to why Severide has yet to receive a promotion but it turns out there’s a good reason for it!

The procedural has seen a lot of changes over the years, with various characters coming and going. Thankfully, one constant has been Kelly Severide as Taylor Kinney’s fireman remains one of the top members of the squad. Even though his late father was a top-ranking and respected fireman, Severide never traded on his name to achieve success on his own.

Severide has shown an aptitude for arson investigations and is quite good at reading people. He can be in the thick of action, from the various emergencies to his relationship with Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), as the pair were married in the season 10 finale. 

Yet despite his success, Severide hasn’t risen up as high as fans would hope. He’s still a lieutenant and while he splits time with arson investigations, he hasn’t gone further. Given other characters on the show have been promoted over the years, one would think someone as experienced as Severide would have followed suit.

With Boden moving on to become Deputy Commissioner, there's a chance for Severide to rise up in the CFD but he seems unlikely to take it. As it happens, there’s a good reason for that. 

Why has Severide not been promoted on Chicago Fire?

Answering a reader question via TVLine, Chicago Fire showrunner Andrea Newman related that the reason for Severide not being promoted yet is because he doesn’t want to be.

"He’s got his focus on the thing he is obsessed with, which is arson and OFI, in addition to the squad, which he loves. There’s a lot of politics the higher you go up in rank, and Severide has no interest in that. He’s a get-your-hands-dirty kind of guy. So arson is still very much on the forefront of his mind, the possibilities of moving to OFI are at the forefront of his mind, and all of that comes up. He’s dealing with all of that this season."

Anyone who watches the show knows Severide loves being in the thick of the action with the squad rather than stuck behind a desk. He chafes at having to do paperwork and prefers helping others in need. He also saw what mingling with the politics of the CFD did to his father and others and doesn’t want that to happen to him. He'd rather remain "one of the guys" than their boss.

Severide is also self-aware of his temper and often bucks his bosses, things that don’t go well with being captain. Put it all together and Severide is content with his current position rather than having a promotion that doesn't suit him.

Thus, fans know it’s not some outside problems keeping Severide from being promoted, as the guy is far more comfortable as a regular fireman than the upper brass. While becoming captain might be a dream of fans, Severide is happy where he is and that should count for Chicago Fire fans as well.

Chicago Fire season 13 premieres Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 9/8c on NBC.