Chicago Fire is down a paramedic: Annie Ilonzeh, who plays Brett’s ambulance partner Emily Foster, will not return as a series regular for Season 9, US Weekly reports.
The scene was set for Foster’s exit during Wednesday’s makeshift Season 8 finale, in which she announced that she wanted to go back to med school and had even reapplied to Northwestern. At her interview, Foster gave an impassioned speech about how the mistake she made was the best thing that ever happened to her, because it brought her to Firehouse 51 and made her a better person. As for whether Foster got into Northwestern, the interview committee said they would let her know. “They’d be lucky to have you,” Brett said.
Ilonzeh was promoted to series regular on the NBC drama ahead of her debut in the Season 7 premiere. Foster filled the ambo space left by Monica Raymund’s exit as Gabby Dawson.
When asked during a post mortem interview whether Foster potentially going back to med school would mean another shakeup in the firehouse assignments, showrunner Derek Haas would only say, “That’s a wait-for-Season-9 question!” It is not yet clear if Ilonzeh will return to wrap up her character’s story.
Fire fans, what do you think of Foster’s exit? Hit the comments with your thoughts!
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