Dick Wolf’s “One Chicago” franchise has been one of NBC’s most reliable Nielsen ratings performers since its flagship show, “Chicago Fire,” debuted in the fall of 2012. Aside from the ill-fated, semi-redundant “Chicago Justice” (which only lasted 13 episodes in 2017), the series and its spinoffs, “Chicago P.D.” and “Chicago Med,” seem every bit as unkillable as Wolf’s “Law & Order” franchise. As long as the shows’ fans keep tuning in every week, these Windy City procedurals ain’t goin’ nowhere.

Alas, the cast members aren’t guaranteed to stick around for quite as long. Fans were reminded of this when, prior to the conclusion of the show’s 13th season, it was announced that Daniel Kyri and Jake Lockett would not be returning to the show in the fall. Obviously, long-running series like “Chicago Fire” need viewers to sense that every character is human and, thus, vulnerable to an unexpectedly fatal end, but this doesn’t mean they have to quietly accept the demise and/or exit of a character in whom they’ve been invested over multiple seasons. Just look at how upset “9-1-1” fans got when Peter Krause’s Bobby Nash died a deeply unpleasant death last April.

On the plus side, Lockett’s Sam Carver didn’t book a trip to the big firehouse in the sky – though no one would’ve been surprised if he had. After breaking up with paramedic Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith), Sam, a recovering alcoholic, got back on the sauce. He was able to get sober again (thanks to rekindling his friendship with Violet), but that journey is always an uncertain one.

Troubled characters like Sam are vital for a show like “Chicago Fire,” so why did they give Lockett the boot? The answer is pretty depressing.

Sam Carver’s departure was strictly a network business decision

When Deadline broke the news that Kyri and Lockett would not be returning for Season 14 of “Chicago Fire,” they made it fairly plain that this was not a creative decision. As we have been reminded about long-running shows time and time again, they get more expensive the longer they stay on the air. And when that belt gets tightened, actors occasionally get squeezed out of the series.

In the case of “Chicago Fire,” cost-saving measures were already in place. Series regulars were already appearing in fewer episodes to keep their salaries in check, so it wasn’t a shock that, when it came time to write a couple of characters out of the show, Wolf and company targeted two actors who’d been introduced later in the run.

Some fans were worried about Sam’s well-being after learning that Lockett was leaving the show, but he wound up putting in for a transfer to Denver, where he will continue to work on his sobriety. This came as a blow to Violet, who was ready to resume their romance, but a change of scenery seemed to be the best thing for Sam.

And not paying Lockett for another season of “Chicago Fire” was evidently the best thing for the network. That’s the harsh reality of the business, folks!