Chicago Fire launched the wildly successful One Chicago franchise for NBC, and has now been renewed for a thirteenth season. Debuting in 2012, the series follows the firefighters and paramedics of the fictional Firehouse 51 in Chicago, responding to some of the most dangerous emergencies that rock the city. Like many of the best procedurals, Chicago Fire shines because it is as much about the harrowing adventure as it is about the complicated personal lives of the characters.
Naturally, Chicago Fire’s immediate success led NBC to launch a myriad of spinoffs set in the same universe, and TV maven Dick Wolf eventually came on board to helm the entire One Chicago franchise. Despite its rapid expansion, Chicago Fire has remained true to form and continues to deliver gripping drama season after season. While season 12 was delayed due to the Hollywood strikes of 2023, nothing has dulled the popularity of the series or franchise, and the flagship series shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Chicago Fire Season 13 Critical Reception
When it came to Chicago Fire season 13, critics were happy with the show overall. It holds a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes as of the airing of the season finale. Decider notes in their early review of the season that Dermot Mulroney “shakes things up in a refreshing way,” and while his presence as new character Pascal certainly led to compelling arcs, it also led some of the audience to question how long he would be staying.
Because so much of the show’s continuity depends on the personal relationships of the season, the romances and the storylines that blossom because of them are also usually a hot topic, even with critics. At ScreenRant, we might not have loved the adopted storyline for Kidd and Severide this season, but we did call Violet and Carver’s relationship the “best slow burn romance” the series offered.
Comic Book Resources also calls Taylor Kinney’s Severide “the linchpin of the entire series,” and notes that he carried several episodes in the season, which will definitely have fans hoping that he continues to sign on for more of the long-running procedural. He is certainly the MVP of season 13.
Overall, Chicago Fire season 13 did see a slight drop in viewers compared to season 12 (via TV Series Finale). There was an overall drop of about 10%, but there are still over 5.6 million audience members tuned in to watch live, which is impressive in the age of streaming for a series that has been on the air for more than a decade.
Where To Stream Chicago Fire Season 13
After Chicago Fire airs new episodes on NBC, the following day, those episodes are made available to stream through Peacock. With season 13 complete, all episodes are now available to stream on Peacock. The entire One Chicago universe is available through the same streamer. Individual episodes are also available for purchase though digital retailers like AppleTV or Prime Video.
Chicago Fire Season 13 Release Date
Chicago Fire was quickly renewed for its 13th season along with the rest of the One Chicago shows, and NBC put the franchise on the schedule for the same night. One Chicago Wednesdays began on September 25, 2024. Chicago Fire season 13 aired its finale on May 21, 2025, alongside its spinoffs.
Chicago Fire Season 13 Cast
Shows like Chicago Fire have pretty consistent ensembles, but the tumultuous changes that happened before season 12 are repeating for season 13 as well. Despite that, fans saw a lot of familiar faces, including Taylor Kinney’s Severide, who made his big return in season 12. Although he only joined the show at the beginning of season 12, Rome Flynn did not return as Derrick Gibson in season 13.
Two other major departures rocked season 12, though one was much more expected than the other. First, Kara Killmer departed the series after 10 seasons as Sylvie Brett, and the season concluded with the resignation of District Chief Wallace Boden, played by Eamonn Walker. Dermot Mulroney joined the cast to play Chief Dom Pascal, who has a different leadership style. Jocelyn Hudon’s paramedic Lyla Novak was upgraded as a recurring character to fill the void left by Brett’s departure.
Chicago Fire Season 13 Story
Some of the story of Chicago Fire season 13 is shaped by the conclusion of season 12, which saw Boden retire from his role as Chief and even tap a successor, Christopher Hermann. However, the Chief actually ended up being a new character named Dom Pascal (played by Dermot Mulroney), which meant new relationships forming among the crew and a new adjustment to Pascal’s leadership continued throughout the season. Pascal was also accused of murder during the season, so one big arc saw him trying to clear his name.
While the series largely maintains its episodic format with a case every week, season 13 also saw Kidd and Severide contemplating fostering and adopting children due to an ongoing storyline about a young woman who needed help. It also saw hints that Novak might have feelings for the new Chief, which could complicate the team’s dynamic moving forward.
Though there were confirmed character exits announced before Chicago Fire season 13 aired, those characters were not written out during the course of the season, leaving fans to speculate as to how those might happen in the future.
How The Chicago Fire Season 13 Finale Sets Up Season 14
Though Chicago Fire is mostly episodic in nature when it comes to the stories of fire rescue actions, the personal lives of the main characters provide the throughlines for the longer season arcs. That will be the case in Chicago Fire season 14 as well, after the events of the season 13 finale.
In the season 13 finale, Kidd and Severide discovered they were expecting a baby. They had already been considering adoption for much of the season, but after those plans fell through, they will still become parents in season 14, so that will likely be an ongoing storyline for the first few episodes of the season unless the series undergoes a massive time jump.
Herrmann also accepted a demotion so that Mouch could be promoted. While that’s an admirable choice to make, that might affect their dynamic going forward, especially since Herrmann already effectively received a demotion when a new Chief was brought in after he was named Chief in season 12.
With at least two cast members stepping down as series regulars (Daniel Kyri and Jake Lockett), whether they will appear to end their storylines in Chicago Fire season 14 or not is also still up in the air since the season 13 finale did not address their impending absences.
