Leslie Shay’s Shock Death In The Chicago Fire Season 3 Opener Explained

Season 2 Ended On A Devastating Cliffhanger

Leslie Shay was beloved by most fans of the show, as well as an integral figure, so when the Chicago Fire season 2 finale found her in a terrible accident and the opening of season 3 confirmed she had not survived, it hit audiences hard. The Chicago Fire season 2 finale, “Real Never Waits,” sees Chief Boden and Donna elope and have their wedding at the firehouse, but their happy day is disrupted when a call comes in about a fire in a five-story building.

It Was Purely A Creative Decision – If A Tough One

Unfortunately for Lauren German, the decision to exit Chicago Fire wasn’t her own. While Chicago Fire was wildly popular, heading into season 2, it was clear that the show would have to start shaking things up. Thus, the decision to kill off Shay was made by the showrunners in order to give the sophomore show its first big death. Fans were devastated and angry about it, but the creative team behind Chicago Fire knew that it had to make a bold decision with its first major character being killed off. As EP and showrunner Matt Olmstead (via TVLine) explained

Omstead then related how, during the first show he worked on, NYPD Blue, the death of Jimmy Smits’ character Bobby Simone taught him a lesson about how one character exiting can be better for a series in the long run: “[W]hat it gave them emotionally and in terms of storytelling and then thereafter was worth it,” he explained. “Sometimes, you have to do that to bring more storylines into a show, and that’s what we decided to do.”

On the heels of the latest near-death experience for Stella, Chicago Fire needs to finally stop all these fakeout deaths for both Severide and Kidd.

“Shay rode on 61. She was part of the DNA of this firehouse. She was our friend. So much new blood in 51 these days, pretty soon the people who never knew Shay are gonna outnumber those of us who did. And they should know whose shadow they’re walking in.”

What Lauren German Has Done Since Leaving Chicago Fire

Her Next Role Was An Even Better One

TV junkies will recognize German for her leading role in Lucifer, which she landed shortly after leaving Chicago Fire. German starred as LAPD detective Chloe Decker opposite Tom Ellis’ titular ruler of Hell. Lucifer, tired of his role as Hell’s overseer, vacates his throne and heads to Earth to live in Los Angeles as the hedonistic owner of the nightclub Lux. Using his skills to get people to reveal their darkest desires to him, he moonlights as a consultant for the LAPD and Detective Decker’s civilian partner and, later, her love interest.

Lucifer‘s Chloe Decker was the perfect role to highlight German’s talents after Chicago Fire.

Instead, it appears German has chosen to focus on her art for now, most recently partnering up with Bonfire for a series of t-shirts to raise money for L.A. Children’s Hospital (via Instagram). As she’s stepped back from social media in the past few years after her Chicago Fire and Lucifer roles, it appears Lauren German is happy right now staying out of the spotlight.