Everything We Know About Chicago Fire Season 7

When Chicago Firereturns for Season 7, the badass firefighters of Firehouse 51 will take on dangerous new calls and some serious personal drama. Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) are finally together, but Severide's track record isn't great and there's also the chance that he'll mess things up. Plus, Boden (Eamonn Walker) will have to deal with the fallout after losing the commissioner job to Grissom (Gary Cole) and Brett (Kara Killmer) will take on a new partner in Ambulance 61.

With a small shakeup on the horizon and several questions needing to be answered, here's everything we know about Season 7 of Chicago Fire so far.

Chicago Fire returns this September. Mark your calendars: The new season premieres Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 9/8c on NBC. The show will air in a three-hour block alongside Med at 8/7c and P.D. at 10/9c. Brace yourselves, One Chicago Wednesdays are headed to a screen near you this fall.

Episode 2 will feature a major crossover with Med and P.D. With One Chicago taking over Wednesday nights, the crossover -- set to air on Oct. 3 -- will feel more like a TV movie rather than three separate shows. The event kicks off with Fire (airing at 8 p.m. for one night only) as a gnarly blaze sends one of our heroes to Chicago Med (oh no!). P.D.'s Intelligence crew will then launch an investigation that hopefully brings the culprit to justice.

Dawson is leaving, so #RIPDawsey. Yep, Gabby Dawson (Monica Raymund) has left the building. Raymund announced in May that she would be leaving the show ahead of the new season. This effectively means that not only is Firehouse 51 losing a team member, but Dawsey is no more. Her exit, and marital discord with Casey (Jesse Spencer), were hinted at in the Season 6 finale when they couldn't come to terms over trying to adopt another baby. Dawson was then offered the opportunity to help the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, something that would take her away from Chicago Fire for a lengthy period. It's safe to assume she'll take the life-changing gig, effectively ending her relationship with Casey and leaving him a broken-hearted man.

"Casey's obviously distraught about it, to the point of doing things in the premiere that are ill-advised," showrunner Derek Haas told TV Guide. Added Jesse Spencer, "It's a tragic end but we're gonna see Casey pick up and move on."

Chicago Fire Premiere Exclusive: Casey Makes a Reckless Decision

However, Stellaride is still going strong. Dawson and Casey might be crashing and burning but things are going well for Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Stella (Miranda Rae Mayo) who will continue their healthy and happy relationship in the new season. "It's been going really well so. We're finally in a good, grounded place," said Taylor Kinney. "[Stellaride] offers up a change of pace where you have Casey going through a lot and Severide being the guy with the ear lending the advice."

But Firehouse 51 is getting a new crew member. Annie Ilonzeh heads to the series as paramedic Emily Foster, Brett's new partner who has a few skeletons in her closet. "Emily's gonna come in having some questions in her background where even being a paramedic at Firehouse 51 is a bit of a second chance for her," Haas noted. She's holding onto a huge secret that Ilonzeh said is "too painful for her to reveal."

Ilonzeh's credits include Drop Dead Diva, Arrow, Empire, Person of Interest and the big screen thriller Peppermint starring Jennifer Garner.

Some familiar faces will be back! Showrunner Derek Haas confirmed to TV Guide that you will be seeing Severide's parents Benny Severide (Treat Williams) and Jennifer Sheridan (Kim Delaney) again. The entertaining duo is headed back to the series to hopefully put their son in even more awkward situations. Plus, Chaplain Orlovsk (Gordon Clapp) will return to hopefully offer Casey some much-needed guidance.

Boden is sticking around Chicago Fire to face Grissom's lackey. Season 6 teased Boden's potential promotion as the Chicago Fire Department's new commissioner, something that would have effectively moved him out of Firehouse 51. And when Walker hadn't signed his contract for Season 7, it looked like the actor might be leaving the show. But alas, the chief lost out to Grissom, who secured the position through underhanded tactics, and Walker inked a new deal that keeps him on Fire through the new season. The new season finds Boden forced to deal with Grissom's lackey Jerry Gorsch (Steven Boyer), whose desire for a cushy department job will have him clashing with the chief.

"[Gorsch] comes in to keep a closer eye on Firehouse 51 and he's gonna be a thorn in all of their sides for a while," said Haas. According to Eamonn Walker, things will get heated between Boden and Gorsch and they'll have some "really intense" scenes together.

Severide's half-sister Katie might be back. There's a chance Katie (Brittany Curran) might be sticking around. Haas released an image of her name appearing on the whiteboard used to map out stories for Chicago Fire storylines. Though he hasn't confirmed or denied her return, he did say that he hoped to see her back.

There will probably be a time jump. Fire usually employs a time jump for its season premieres and it looks like Season 7 will be no different. However, Haas says the time jump might happen at the top of the episode, which is the perfect opportunity for the show to write Dawson out of the series without necessarily having her appear.

Don't expect to see Casey's side of the family anytime soon. Bad news if you were hoping the show would explore more of Casey's complex family dynamics. According to Haas, Fire has no current plans to feature any of his relatives in the new season. However, Haas did say he's open to it, especially bringing back Casey's sister Christie (Nicole Forester). We've already met both Christie and his mom Nancy (Kathleen Quinlan), who was serving time in prison for murdering his father Gregory. It would be interesting to explore more of Casey's complicated feelings toward his family since we've only scratched the surface with them. With Dawson leaving, it's time for the series to revisit Casey's relationship with his family.

There will be even more crossovers this season. With One Chicago taking over Wednesday nights this fall, all three shows will be even more inter-connected and guests from other shows will be dropping by frequently. "We're just writing them into almost every episode now," Haas teased. So keep your eyes peeled for One Chicago appearances like Burgess paying a visit to the firehouse."Who knows who's gonna show up at Molly's," Haas added.

There will be a Halloween episode. Are you ready for a spooky One Chicago night? This year, Fire, Med and P.D. are slated to air on Halloween and that special holiday will be incorporated into all three shows. "It'll be like One Chicago-ween," Haas joked.

You're going to learn even more about Stella Kidd's background. This season will explore even more of Stella's past, offering up even more insight into who she was before she joined the firehouse. According to Miranda Rae Mayo, some friends from her past might be dropping by.

Fire will include LGBT representation. The firehouse will see an LGBTQ character arc this season. While we don't know who will be involved just yet, Ilonzeh teased that someone on the show will explore their sexuality and the idea of "not needing to be defined by one thing" in the coming episodes.

Chicago Fire returns this fall on NBC.