7 Spoilers for the 'Chicago Fire' Premiere (Taylor Kinney & Jesse Spencer Updates)

Miranda Rae Mayo, Kara Killmer, Hanako Greensmith

When Chicago Fire premieres its first episode of Season 12, viewers will get answers to the questions that were left hanging in last season’s nail-biting finale, including whether Mouch (Christian Stolte) survived his injury, if Sylvie Brett (Kara Kilmer) accepted Matt Casey’s (Jesse Spencer) proposal and why Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) went AWOL on Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo).

But prior to tuning in, Parade spoke with showrunner Andrea Newman to get some spoilers for what we can expect in the coming season.

First, we learned that there will be a six-month time jump between the Season 11 finale to accommodate some of the changes that have taken place. Firehouse 51 has been forced to share its space with Firehouse 17 after a fire wiped out the latter’s kitchen. Kidd and Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) are fighting over Ritter (Daniel Kyri), who moved from truck to engine in Mouch’s absence. And Severide hasn’t gotten arson cases out of his system when a new chance to track down fire starters presents itself.

“It was so exciting to have Severide back and so we do a deep dive with him and have a great arson case that he is investigating where a lot of firefighters’ lives are at stake,” Newman tells Parade about the first episode back. “He’s the one leading the charge. He’s got to work through that and work through this tension with Kidd that is still lingering. They have a new dynamic at the start of the season. It’s fun, it’s still sexy but there’s some tension between them. This OFI case is going to bring that to a head.”

Related: Everything We Know About the Future of Chicago Fire

Here's more of what we learned, character by character:

1. Kelly Severide: It’s still a mystery as to why Taylor Kinney took a leave of absence from the series last season, but now the question is how long is he back for? It’s a shortened season, so, hopefully, the entire time.

“He’s definitely back and we’ll just have to wait and see if he’s there for the whole season or just for the first couple of episodes,” Newman says.

One of the things already mentioned is that his long leave of absence for special arson training caused problems in his relationship with Stella which are still unresolved, and which may go on for a while.

“I would say Severide’s dad was in OFI and I think the way Kidd has always felt about it is that OFI and arson is kind of like a drug for Severide,” Newman says. “He tends to get lost in it and lose himself a bit in that world. There are flashbacks to Benny Severide (Treat Williams), who may not have been the best husband. So that brings all sorts of questions to Kidd’s mind. That’s something they’re going to have to work through. That’s a journey that Kidd and Severide will be on a bit at the beginning of the season."

2. Mouch: Mouch suffered a shrapnel injury while on the job in the finale. Did he survive? If so, when will he be able to return to Firehouse 51?

“Well, it’ll be obvious pretty quickly what happened with Mouch,” Newman says.

3. Sylvie Brett: Matt Casey showed up at Sylvie’s apartment, ring in hand, and dropped down on one knee and proposed. Did she accept? It seems obvious that that is the solution to the problem of Killmer’s departure from the series this season.

“I won’t say an exact amount, but she’s here for a bit and she has plans in place,” Newman teases. “Of course, things will not go as according to plan as she wants. There’ll be all sorts of wrenches thrown in. So, she’s here for a bit and it’s going to be a little bit of a wild ride for her.

The natural assumption is that she’s leaving to be with Casey in Oregon since he proposed.

Related: Another Chicago Fire Cast Member Exits During Season 12

“That’s one option,” Andrea adds. “I think there’ll be a lot of surprises in that story. I think there’ll be plenty of twists and turns in terms of Sylvie and her life and her love life.”

One of the reasons she stayed when Matt originally left was because of her paramedicine program. What’s going to happen with that?

“I think she’s really proud of that program and everybody in the CFD is proud of that program. It’s going to be one main legacy for her when she goes. But it’ll be interesting to see what happens without her leadership there.”

4. Matt Casey: Jesse Spencer came back to propose, but he had to return to Oregon where he is a foster father and where he has a job. Will we see him at all this season?

“Yes, we will see our beloved Matt Casey again this season,” Newman says. “He’s been working on [the anti-terrorist program]. He’s also still got the Darden boys, Andy Darden’s two sons, that he looks out for. One is in college, but still close. Kids still need parents once they head off to college. They still need their home base. But Ben is at home. That’s part of his life.”

5. Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende): Gallo is also leaving this season and it looks to be happening in the premiere episode.

“It’s a fantastic ensemble and I think it’s inevitable with a cast that size that people are going to come and go for all sorts of reasons,” Newman says, explaining all the comings and goings. “Character-wise, too, I think change is inevitable in any home, in any workplace. I think these guys, our 51 family, there’ll be lots of changes but they’re still strong and they’re going to go through the highs and lows of all these changes together. As writers, it’s a challenge in a good way, too. You get to bring in new characters and have all sorts of new intrigue. We love Gallo, couldn’t love Alberto more. He brought so much to 51. We’re incredibly grateful to him and sad to see him go. But the character Gallo has his reasons, which will be revealed. We’ll find out all about that.”

Related: After a Major Cast Shakeup, What's in Store for Chicago Med Season 9?

6. Derek Gibson (Rome Flynn): With the departure of Gallo, the vacancy needs to be filled in Firehouse 51 and Rome Flynn, known for playing Zende Forrester Dominguez on The Bold and the Beautiful will be filling the spot.

“The character is definitely bringing some intrigue into 51,” Newman says. “We meet him in a very heroic way. He impresses Kidd especially and she wants him at 51, wants to bring him onto her team. He’s a great character with a great back story that will be revealed very slowly. There’s lots of layers to peel back on Gibson to get to the heart of Derek. The actor is phenomenal, Rome Flynn who’s playing him. We’re really excited to have him on board.”

7. Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith): Violet has suffered a lot of loss. First, her fiancé died in the line of duty; now Gallo, who she’s close with, is departing; and soon, Sylvie, her best friend, will be leaving as well.

“I think this season is going to be a huge season for Violet,” Newman says. “She really gets her time to shine and grow and take center stage. Brett’s been the PIC and now Violet will have her moment to step into that, step into the sun. As a character, she’s been through a lot. With Violet that only makes her stronger. We get to see her as a superstar this season. I’m really excited about all the Violet stories we have for her."

Chicago Fire premieres its 12^th season tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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