Why Charlie Barnett's Peter Mills Left Chicago Fire

The One Chicago franchise is a strange beast that's constantly in flux while simultaneously remaining as static and unchanged as you'd assume from a group of interconnected procedural dramas. NBC might cancel "Chicago Justice," a fan-favorite like Jesse Lee Soffer's Jay Halstead might leave "Chicago P.D.," and Scott Eastwood might depart the franchise before even truly establishing himself as part of it — but all the while, the shows trudge on, with the first responders of the Windy City navigating their difficult jobs and personal lives.

Sometimes, the cast shake-ups the property has become known for are borne out of necessity when an actor wishes to leave- However, there are other times when a major character is simply written out of the series. Such was the case with Charlie Barnett's second-generation firefighter Peter Mills, who was a prominent part of the first three seasons of "Chicago Fire" before suddenly deciding to quit firefighting and start pursuing his own dreams at his family's North Carolina restaurant. In a 2015 TV Guide interview, "Chicago Fire" executive producer Matt Olmstead explained that Mills was effectively put out to pasture in order to make room for new characters:

"The hardest part of this job is when you feel it's the right time to make cast changes. It was solely based on bringing in new people for new stories. Otherwise, it turns into a clown car. You have affection and admiration for [your cast], so you keep everybody, but it's at the detriment at being objective and making some tough calls in terms of storytelling. So, we wanted to shake things up and bring in a new character and we started discussing the idea ... and here we are. It was an extremely tough decision to make, but we feel good about it."

While he didn't really get a say in his departure from "Chicago Fire," Charlie Barnett hasn't been short of work since exiting the One Chicago franchise in 2015. In 2016, he became part of the main cast of the AMC mystery drama show "Secrets and Lies," after which he starred as Ian Porter in The CW's short-lived military helicopter pilot drama series "Valor." After that, he joined the ensemble cast of the acclaimed 2019 Netflix miniseries "Tales of the City," and had recurring roles on the streamer's stalker drama "You" and the CW superhero show "Arrow." Meanwhile, fans of prestige comedy-drama likely know Bartnett best from his role as Nadia Vulvokov's (Natasha Lyonne) fellow time loop occupant Alan Zaveri on "Russian Doll." Likewise, for "Star Wars" aficionados, he's the eager Jedi Knight Yord Fandar from "The Acolyte."

Combine this impressive arsenal of TV roles with Barnett's rising profile as a big screen presence (between 2022 and 2024 alone, he starred in the comedy film "Dance Dads" and the dramatic features "Last Weekend" and "Dreams in Nightmares"), and it's easy to believe that he doesn't exactly miss the olden days of filming first responder drama in the Windy City. In a 2022 interview with Digital Spy, Barnett actually addressed how getting booted from the franchise turned out to be a great thing: 

"I really was sad to be let go. It broke me for quite a long time. Yeah. It was a blessing in disguise, and they all told me that. You never really see that in life, in general. You never see the bad moments becoming the good. It wouldn't be. It wouldn't be what it was, I think, if you did recognize it for what it is in the moment. So, I'm thankful."