Lauren German’s Leslie Shay was killed off in Chicago Fire season 3, and, as a fan-favorite character, it surprised quite a few viewers at the

time. Chicago Fire is one of the many long-running network procedurals and a pillar of the One Chicago shared universe, currently still

going strong in its 13th season. Of course, as with any lengthy network show, characters are bound to be killed off, and Chicago Fire has seen its fair share of deaths.

 

 

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.”

In many ways, it was because Lauren German was so good as an actress, and her character of Lauren Shay was so loved that she was the first major character on the chopping block. At the time of her death in the show, Shay was a central pillar of Firehouse 51 and the storylines of Chicago Fire. As Olmstead said, there was truly no other character in the show by the end of season 2 whose death would have had a more profound impact on the other characters. That’s born out in the seasons since; even years after Shay’s death, the other characters still talk about her. As Kelly Severide says in season 9, episode 2

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.

While German’s Chloe is a romantic interest, however, she’s no damsel-in-distress. She’s capable and smart, and is often the one helping Lucifer out of a jam, so it was the perfect role to highlight German’s talents after Chicago Fire. Since Lucifer ended after six seasons in 2021, however, German has yet to appear in a new movie or TV show.