Overview
- Multiple outlets reported Wednesday, July 29, 2026, that Joe Miñoso will leave Chicago Fire and will appear in a handful of early Season 15 episodes so writers can close out his character Joe Cruz’s arc.
- Miñoso has played Joe Cruz since the show’s 2012 pilot and was promoted to series regular at the start of Season 2, making him one of the program’s longest‑running cast members.
- Reports say NBC declined to comment and Miñoso’s representatives had not issued a statement at the time of publication, so the production has not publicly explained the reason for his departure.
- Season 14 ended with several Firehouse 51 characters trapped in a burning storage facility, a cliffhanger that frames how Cruz’s exit will be staged but leaves his final fate unconfirmed and subject to on‑screen resolution.
- The exit comes as the series brings in new showrunner Victor Teran, adds Da’Vinchi as a Season 15 regular, and confirms that Season 15 will premiere on October 7 with Taylor Kinney and Miranda Rae Mayo under new deals.