Chicago Fire Characters Who Failed to Win Fans Over

NBC’s “Chicago Fire” is heading into its 15th season in October 2026, with more than 290 episodes establishing the drama as one of the network’s most durable hits. The series follows the firefighters, paramedics and other emergency responders stationed at the fictional Firehouse 51, where Chief Wallace Boden oversees the team alongside Captain Matt Casey and Lieutenant Kelly Severide. Their work brings one crisis after another, but the crew’s personal lives are just as combustible, with romances frequently developing within the house. Matt, for instance, marries paramedic Gabriela Dawson before their relationship ends and he later finds love with fellow paramedic Sylvie Brett.

Over 14 seasons, “Chicago Fire” has seen its cast change repeatedly, with more than a dozen popular performers eventually departing. Some characters, including Kelly, have remained since the beginning, while others made their mark after only a season or two. Not every addition won over viewers. From outright villains to colleagues whose questionable choices frustrated the rest of Firehouse 51, these are the “Chicago Fire” characters fans have often considered the show’s least appealing.

Paramedic Gabriela “Gabby” Dawson, played by Monica Raymund, was a central figure during the first six seasons of “Chicago Fire.” As one of Firehouse 51’s few female paramedics, she quickly became a key member of the team and even co-owned a bar with several colleagues. The series also leaned into Raymund’s chemistry with Jesse Spencer, making Gabby’s relationship with Matt Casey a major storyline. Their romance was complicated by the pressures of working together and by Gabby’s determination to adopt a young boy, Louie, before Matt was prepared to become a parent.

Gabby and Matt marry in Season 5’s “One Hundred,” but their marriage ends when she accepts a job in her native Puerto Rico at the conclusion of Season 6. Raymund left “Chicago Fire” in 2018 and went on to appear in projects including “Hightown” and direct an episode of “Law & Order: SVU.” Explaining her exit to the Chicago Tribune, Raymund said, “I knew that my six-year contract was coming to an end and I felt like I was hungry to explore a different role, a different story.”

Many “Chicago Fire” viewers were also prepared to say goodbye to Gabby. Fans respected her strength and persistence, but some criticized her as self-centered, particularly for accepting the Puerto Rico position without first working through the decision with Matt. Others disliked the way she pursued Matt in Season 1 while he was still engaged. “She started out fine, but when she started circling Matt when his relationship fell apart, and then got with him when she could was off-putting,” one Reddit user wrote. The same commenter called her eventual departure “very unlikeable and almost bitter,” while acknowledging that the outcome may have reflected a writing decision more than the character herself.

Stella Kidd arrives in Season 4 as one of Gabby’s longtime friends, bringing with her a troubled history involving her former husband, Grant Smith, played by Guy Burnet. Grant, an addict, is rescued from an overdose in the Season 4 episode “Superhero,” but his behavior soon becomes far more threatening. After seeing Stella begin a relationship with Kelly Severide, he attacks her with a knife. Grant appears in only six episodes across Seasons 4 and 5, yet his abusive conduct is enough to place him among the show’s most memorable villains.

Danilo Castro of the franchise site One Chicago Center ranked Grant as the most disliked “Chicago Fire” character, describing him as “the absolute worst.” The site noted that Grant not only behaved cruelly but appeared to take pleasure in the suffering he caused Stella. “He was bad news every second he was onscreen,” the ranking stated. Showrunner Matt Olmstead offered a similar assessment to The Hollywood Reporter, calling Grant “increasingly unhinged” and portraying him as someone content to rely on Stella while chasing rock-star ambitions that had already collapsed.

Emma Jacobs, played by Caitlin Carver of “I, Tonya,” enters “Chicago Fire” in Season 10 as a temporary paramedic filling in for Sylvie Brett. Partnered with Violet Mikami, Emma quickly reveals that she is willing to undermine her colleague to secure a permanent position. She steals a mask Violet needs while treating an asthma patient and threatens to expose Violet’s relationship with a superior after discovering it by searching Violet’s phone. Emma’s worst decision comes when she abandons a burning building while Violet remains inside treating a patient.

Emma’s time on the show was brief, but her actions made a lasting impression on viewers. “I’ve been watching Chicago enough to be sure that this is the worst character. I hate her so much!” one Reddit user posted. One Chicago Center writer Danilo Castro placed Emma ninth on his list of the 10 most disliked “Chicago Fire” characters. Although she never physically attacked anyone, Castro argued that her aggressive ambition and unreliable performance made her someone audiences had no desire to see return.

Jerry Gorsch, portrayed by Steven Boyer, is introduced in Season 7 as a field supervisor and wastes little time alienating Kelly Severide and Chief Wallace Boden, played by Eamonn Walker. He interferes with the department’s operations and tries to secure a position on the squad for an unqualified relative. A former firefighter who now criticizes frontline personnel from behind a desk, Jerry quickly became a symbol of bureaucratic meddling. One Reddit commenter compared him to the kind of office insider who reports every perceived mistake and uses even limited authority to intimidate others.

Jerry’s position collapses after investigators discover that he used department money to purchase inexpensive, unsafe equipment and pocketed the remaining funds. Neither the Firehouse 51 crew nor the audience mourned his departure. Castro ranked Jerry third among the show’s most disliked characters, writing that his lack of practical firefighting knowledge would have been irritating enough, but that his embezzlement made the character even more reprehensible.

READ MORE: Broadcaster Emma Willis Scandal And Controversy Explained – NewsFinale

As one of the principal characters through the first 10 seasons, Matt Casey was almost certain to frustrate viewers eventually. Jesse Spencer’s character is deeply loyal to his colleagues and repeatedly puts himself in danger to help others. Still, his political ambitions, his habit of asserting authority after becoming captain in Season 6 and his complicated romantic history with Gabby Dawson caused some fans to turn against him. Matt leaves the series in Season 10 after relocating to Oregon, a storyline that reflected Spencer’s own decision to pursue other priorities. “There’s other things I’d like to do in the future and there’s some family I need to take care of,” he told USA Today. Spencer later returned to Australia and filmed a Disney+ series.

The prevailing fan view is that Matt began as a sympathetic, carefully developed character but became less appealing once he started leaning on his rank. One Reddit user objected to how often he pulled rank, particularly during his first call as captain, saying it made him seem petty. Another commenter described Matt as immature and hotheaded, arguing that he used his position to get his way whenever colleagues challenged him.

Kelly Severide, played by Taylor Kinney, has also divided “Chicago Fire” viewers despite appearing in all 14 seasons. Kelly’s charisma and impulsive personality make him a natural counterpoint to his more reserved friend Matt Casey. Earlier storylines focus on his difficult relationship with his father, Benny, a battalion chief, as well as a series of romances that includes an impulsive Las Vegas wedding. Over time, Kelly matures, marries Stella Kidd in Season 10 and faces a possible promotion to captain in Season 14.

Kinney has spoken warmly about his connection to Chicago and the show’s cast. “It’s never lost on me … how special it is to be a part of something with the longevity this has,” he told Us Weekly. Even so, some viewers believe Kelly’s story has lost momentum, while others have speculated that Kinney appears worn down after 14 seasons, despite taking a short break from the series in 2023. The Kelly-Stella storyline has also prompted fatigue. One Reddit user argued that Matt’s departure pushed Kelly into the lead role, leaving him with less interesting material centered largely on the Office of Fire Investigation and Stella.

Miranda Rae Mayo’s Stella Kidd did not appear until Season 4, but she has since developed into one of “Chicago Fire’s” most important characters. Stella rises through the ranks to become a lieutenant at Firehouse 51 and eventually marries Kelly Severide. Her path includes surviving a destructive marriage to Grant Smith, demonstrating her skills as an instructor at the Firehouse Academy and creating Girls on Fire, a support and mentorship program for teenage girls.

Stella steps away from the firehouse for a run of Season 10 episodes while concentrating on Girls on Fire, and she stops communicating with Kelly while they are engaged. Mayo acknowledged that the storyline could test viewers’ patience. Speaking with TV Guide, she said she found herself judging Stella as well, adding that it was difficult to extend her character much grace and wondering whether the audience would feel the same way.

Many viewers have shown little patience for Stella, particularly as her prominence has grown. Some argue that she and Kelly now dominate too much of the series. “I think Stella is the worst thing to have happened to Chicago Fire. Making her a major character has ruined Kelly and nearly ruined the whole show,” one Reddit user wrote. Writing for One Chicago Center, Drew Holbrook described growing audience fatigue with Stella’s screen time. The criticism is not necessarily that her plots are poor, but that the ensemble balance has weakened. “If 2026 feels like another year when everything revolves around Stella while other characters spin in place or vanish, more fans will quietly drift away,” the article concluded.

Gail McLeod, played by Michelle Forbes, is a more traditional “Chicago Fire” antagonist. She appears during the first half of Season 2 as an Illinois state official assigned to reduce Firehouse 51’s budget by 10%. That mandate immediately puts her at odds with Boden and the rest of the crew. Gail nearly convinces Boden to retire early and later attempts to shut down the firehouse altogether, making her motives clear and leaving little doubt about why viewers disliked her.

“I LOATHE her everytime she’s on screen, even moreso compared to some of the most hated female TV characters,” one Reddit user wrote, objecting to Gail’s campaign against firefighters. Another fan questioned the realism of the storyline, noting that Chicago had not closed a fire station in more than 25 years. That viewer also argued that an Illinois state consultant would not have the authority to resolve a Chicago city budget issue, calling Gail’s assignment “the biggest joke of the whole season.”

Paramedic Jessica “Chili” Chilton (Dora Madison Burge) first appears at the end of Season 3 to a frosty reception from the Firehouse 51 crew, who are still upset over their friend Peter Mills leaving. Though the character departs in the middle of Season 4, she manages to fit some drama into her short-lived tenure, including a fling with co-worker Jimmy Borrelli (Steven R. McQueen) and, tragically, learning that her troubled twin sister (who goes by “Jellybean”) has been found dead in Kansas City.

“Chicago Fire” fans, much like the firehouse, didn’t warm up to Chili, ranting about the character years after she left the show. “She was incompetent. Always angry. Always emotional. She had a drinking problem. Took it out on all those that tried to help her. I wish Boden fired her sooner. Especially after she gave this woman morphine making her heart stop and go into cardiac arrest and then acted like it was ok. I hate her so much. I still do 9 seasons after she was fired from 51,” one Reddit viewer wrote. Though some fans defended Chili for experiencing grief over her sister’s passing, others criticized the way she acted on the job after that loss. “She had no accountability at all and was so immature. Not great qualities for a medic,” another Redditor opined.

One of the most disliked “Chicago Fire” characters is Tommy Welch (Kenny Johnson), a firefighter who appears in Seasons 2 and 3. He is the head of Firehouse 105, where Gabby Dawson attempts to get signed on as a firefighter. However, he dismisses her because she is a woman — a recurring issue for Firehouse 105, where another woman quits after two weeks because of the atmosphere. Tommy doubles down on his sexist views when Matt Casey speaks to him, asking if Gabby can cook and clean. His work at Firehouse 105 ends when he is stripped of his command after ordering his fire truck to race Casey’s to the scene of a call, resulting in the two trucks crashing.

Tommy was named one of the biggest villains of “Chicago Fire” by Writer Megan Lasher of NBC, writing that he was “an unforgettable character who wreaked havoc on the CFD.” Viewers agreed, with one Reddit comment saying, “Welch should’ve been straight-up fired after his truck-crashing and lying incident came to light. It makes for interesting tv, in some ways, but come on!” Another wrote, “Welch is a sexist pig. P****d off because he had one bad experience.”