Big changes are ahead for Firehouse 51 in Chicago Fire‘s Season 13 premiere, starting with the introduction of Dermot Mulroney’s “larger-than-life” Chief Dom Pascal, who will shake up all the relationships at 51, showrunner Andrea Newman tells TVLine.
On top of contending with their new chief’s different leadership style, Severide and Stella are also coming into the new season (premiering this Wednesday at 9/8c on NBC) with two big questions looming over them: Will Severide accept his newly revealed half-brother, Damon? And will Severide and Stella start a family this year?
Luckily, Severide already has some experience with secret half-siblings — thanks for that, Benny — but the Damon situation is a different one than what Severide went through with half-sister Katie, Newman says in the following Q&A. As for Severide and Stella’s family prospects, there are challenges, particularly for the latter, that will be addressed.
Read on as Newman also previews a big season for one particular firefighter.
TVLINE | How is Severide reacting to that news that Damon dropped on him?
It really shakes him up in lots of ways, and he has to make some big decisions, and so does Kidd, in terms of what next steps are in their relationship, in terms of work, and all that stuff. So I think he takes it like a bomb was dropped on him, and he’s got to manage a lot of different things coming out of that, including what kind of relationship he wants to have with Damon.
Yeah. As he says, it’s classic Benny Severide. [Laughs] Benny had lived his life a certain way, and so, it’s not out of character for Benny to leave these kinds of secrets behind him in his wake. He references, in fact, Katie, as well, in terms of learning about this. So, yeah, he’s had a lot to shoulder in terms of Benny.
This situation is so different because of the way he learned it, and also because of how close now Damon is to him. When [Damon] says that information, he’s not just telling him from afar. He’s in his firehouse with him when he tells him, when he drops this bomb. So both the proximity and the emotional is a roller coaster of he’s been getting to know this kid, and didn’t know any of that, and now has the shadow of Benny hanging over him, in terms of how he wants to proceed, and then feeling all the pressure of what Damon didn’t have in his life, in terms of Benny, and does Severide try and fill that role for him or not? So it’s a big responsibility.
Chicago Fire Season 13 Preview
Cruz has a very tumultuous history in terms of his relationship with his brother, Leon, and all the things that he did for Leon, all the drama that he had in terms of Leon. And so, he knows that getting close, having a brother, is a whole new experience, and could have its own perils for Severide, in terms of just the emotional weight of it, and what Cruz was willing to do for his brother. It just sort of raises all sorts of flags for him in terms of Severide and Damon’s relationship.
Chicago Fire Season 13 Preview
It’s definitely addressed pretty quickly. There’s a lot to explore in terms of that, and the stuff that’s emotional about it, but also just the difference between what a male firefighter that decides he wants to start a family has to deal with, and what a female firefighter who decides she wants to start a family has to deal with, how different those two situations are, and the pressures that it puts, in different ways, mostly on Kidd. But they definitely address that.
