Chicago Fire may have lost some cast members in Season 12 (Alberto Rosende, Kara Killmer, and Eamonn Walker all left), but there’s some new blood joining this fall.
The NBC drama premiered in 2012, and since it has followed the firefighters and paramedics of Firehouse 51 as they risk their lives to save and protect the city, as well as what’s going on for them off-the-clock. It launched the One Chicago world.
Read on for everything we know about Season 13, including all the cast changes, ahead of the premiere (September 25).
Where did Chicago Fire Season 12 leave off?
Boden left 51 after a promotion to Deputy Commissioner and had a heartfelt farewell with all of 51 in his office. Severide (Taylor Kinney) very briefly started a conversation about kids with Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). Violet (Hanako Greensmith) thought Carver’s (Jake Lockett) reaction at a call was because of feelings he had for Kidd, but he told her he wasn’t in love with his lieutenant “because I am stupid enough to have fallen in love with you.” He then took a furlough, and Violet tried to track him down but didn’t find him. And for the cliffhanger, Damon (Michael Bradway) revealed to Severide that he’s his half-brother; his father was Benny (the late Treat Williams).
Who is returning for Chicago Fire Season 13?
Kinney, David Eigenberg (Herrmann), Mayo, Joe Miñoso (Cruz), Christian Stolte (Mouch), Daniel Kyri (Ritter), and Greensmith are all returning as series regulars. Jocelyn Hudon (Novak) was promoted ahead of Season 13, as was Lockett (per TVLine).
Who has joined the cast for Season 13?
While Boden had wanted Herrmann to take over for him, it was reported after the finale that a new character was being brought in as the chief. The character previously worked in the CFD before moving down to Miami, where he was chief for the past decade. He’s a cheerful person who works well under pressure and has a different leadership style from Boden. Dermot Mulroney has been cast as the new chief, Dom Pascal, a series regular role.
That made sense, since as Eigenberg told TV Insider at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, Herrmann can’t actually take over for Boden, at least not yet. “The character can’t make a shift to a chief unless we were deep into TV falsehoods,” he pointed out. “I’m not going to let him do that. He has to become a captain, and then you got to go through a whole thing. I think that the character might be able to make the transition. I don’t know. Who knows? They may put me in chief and then fire me as a chief. We’ll see.”
Recurring as Dom’s estranged wife, Monica, in Season 13 is KaDee Strickland.
What do we know about the Season 13 plot?
The firehouse is going to have to get used to Pascal, whom showrunner Andrea Newman told TV Insider as part of our extensive Fall Preview, is a different kind of leader from Boden. He’s “enigmatic, he wants to peel back the layers of the firefighters to find out more about them as firefighters and people because knowledge is power to him,” she explained. “He’s got his eye out for people who cross the line.”
And as a result of Severide and Damon’s connection by blood, expect “a very complicated triangle with [Damon’s lieutenant] Kidd,” teased Newman, adding that her “relationship with her husband is affected by Damon.”
When is the Chicago Fire Season 13 premiere?
The NBC firefighter drama returns on Wednesday, September 25, in its usual 9/8c slot. Med and P.D. will once again air before and after it.
Is there a Chicago Fire Season 13 trailer?
There’s a One Chicago featurette (which TV Insider was the first to debut) offering a few glimpses at the new season as well as teases from the cast. Watch it here. Plus, check out photos from the premiere here.
