“Chicago Fire” has struggled to maintain its cast consistently over recent seasons, and now another actor is confirmed to be leaving. Michael Bradway, recognized for his role as Jack Damon on the show, has revealed that he will not be returning for Season 14.

Bradway is leaving because he has been cast in “Every Year After,” an upcoming Prime Video series based on romance author Carly Fortune’s “Every Summer After.” The series is set to explore the narratives found in her well-received Barry’s Bay novels. Bradway will portray Charlie, the younger sibling of Sam (played by Matt Cornett), whose romantic involvement with Percy (played by Sadie Soverall) constitutes the main plot of the first book. Charlie’s own romantic storyline takes place in Fortune’s latest book, “One Golden Summer.”

Although “Chicago Fire” would reportedly welcome Bradway back for a guest role in Season 14, his departure poses a significant challenge for the series. Following Matt Casey’s (Jesse Spencer) exit in Season 12, the series has struggled to find a new attractive male firefighter to fill the romantic lead role. With Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) happily married to Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), the show is left with few eligible bachelors. This departure represents a considerable setback for “Chicago Fire” and adds to the list of actors leaving during Season 14.

Jack Damon was introduced in Season 12 of “Chicago Fire.” At first he seems mysterious and untrustworthy, and definitely has an agenda when it comes to Kelly. It turns out there’s a reason for that — he’s Kelly’s half-brother through their late father, Benny (Treat Williams), a bomb that was dropped on fans during the Season 12 finale. 

That initially makes things difficult for the both of them, as Kelly is in a newfound position of authority at the firehouse and Jack is a hotheaded newbie who manages to make a series of extremely awkward and poor choices on various jobs. Those choices initially reflect poorly on both Kelly and Stella, with whom Damon shares a truck.

And yet — thanks to an accident where Jack gets hurt — the brothers finally develop a sense of affinity for each other and come to an accord. They’re in a good place at the end of Season 13, and Damon even develops a relationship with fellow newbie Lyla Novak (Jocelyn Hudon). But it looks like their romance — like many a recent newbie’s storyline on “Chicago Fire” — will never reach fruition.

Michael Bradway’s decision not to renew his contract with the show is just the latest casting crisis that’s struck “Chicago Fire” over the past couple of seasons. 

Some departures — like Jake Lockett departing the role of Sam Carver and Daniel Kyri leaving Darren Ritter behind — are storyline-dictated. Lockett and Kyri, like Bradway, will be written out of the show during Season 14. Alberto Rosende and Rome Flynn were removed from the show during Season 13, also for reasons related to the plot. Other recent departures — Kara Killmer and Eamonn Walker’s, for instance — were choices made by the actors that came about because both of them wanted to explore other roles. 

It does, however, look like “Chicago Fire” is finally about to add some fresh faces to the series for Season 14. Brandon Larracuente, for one, is set to join the show in an undisclosed role — hopefully, he’ll last long enough to make a real impression on viewers.