Christopher Hermann is supposed to take over Chief Boden’s role in Firehouse 51, but series star David Eigenberg explains why that won’t pan out in Chicago Fire season 13. Firehouse 51 was plagued with various kinds of exits in the last year, which will all be vital in shaping what’s to come for the team. That said, nothing is as impactful as Wallace Boden’s unexpected departure in the Chicago Fire season 12 finale. While Kelly Severide and the rest of the squad were more than supportive as he climbed the CFD ladder, it left a massive hole in their operations.
Before leaving, Boden personally chose Hermann to be his Firehouse 51 replacement, but that won’t come to fruition. In a new interview with TV Insider, Eigenberg explains why One Chicago is moving away from the original plan, citing how unrealistic the initial transition is going to be in Chicago Fire season 13. Read his full quote below:
The character can’t make a shift to a chief unless we were deep into TV falsehoods. 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.
Why Boden Chose Hermann To Be His Chicago Fire Season 13 Replacement
Hermann Wasn’t Boden’s First Choice As Firehouse 51’s Next Leader
Initially, Boden was thinking of choosing Severide as his successor, which made sense, since he stepped in as ranking officer while the Firehouse 51 chief was out of office. Eammon Walker’s character asked Severide what he thought about his experience, effectively showing Boden that Severide wasn’t the man for the job because he didn’t particularly enjoy the counseling part of it. Instead, however, it was Engine 51’s Commanding Officer who had a knack for it, hence why Boden officially chose Hermann to become Chief. Even then, however, the path to this was already long.
That said, there were still hopes that Chicago Fire season 13 would find a way to make the set-up work. There are so many benefits to having Hermann replace Boden. For starters, it would make the transition easier for the rest of the team. Boden had been the house’s unwavering and principled leader for 12 seasons. Replacing him would be very difficult. While Hermann will not be able to fill Boden’s shoes right away, at least Firehouse 51 is assured that they have someone who is fully committed and loyal to all of them.
With Hermann becoming Firehouse 51’s new leader now ruled out, the question now shifts as to who Boden’s replacement may be in Chicago Fire season 13. NBC and Wolf Entertainment are reportedly casting someone new to join the house. Depending on what the writers are planning for the show, this fresh character can either be very helpful or detrimental to the overall health of the team.
