Chicago Fire Boss Previews Severide’s Brother Dilemma, #Stellaride’s Family Journey and ‘Larger-Than-Life’ Chief
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?
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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.
TVLINE | It’s not the first time that he’s had a half-sibling dropped on him.
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.
TVLINE | Given that he’s been through this experience before, is he handling it a little differently this time? Is he bringing any the lessons that he learned from the first time around to this experience?
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.
TVLINE | The logline for the season premiere says that “Cruz keeps a watchful eye on Severide and Damon’s growing bond.” Can you talk a little bit about why Cruz is concerned? What is he looking out for?
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.
TVLINE | Where do Severide and Stella stand in the aftermath of his announcement that he wants to start a family?
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.
TVLINE | You’ve a new chief coming in, played by Dermot Mulroney. What is the character bringing that’s different within the firehouse, and what is his dynamic like with the rest of the characters? Is there anyone in particular he butts heads with?
I think what’s going to be really fun to see, and for the viewers to see, is how this totally new person [comes] in, trying to fill these shoes of Boden, how his relationships are with everybody. It’s going to be different with everyone. There will be surprises in terms of who he bonds with and who he butts heads with, and I think the main thing about the character, Pascal, is that he makes it clear right from the start that he is not Chief Boden, and he doesn’t have any intention [to be]. He’s very much his own kind of leader, and that’ll create all sorts of drama in the firehouse.
TVLINE | How energizing has it been for you in the writers’ room to have this big of a character come in, who’s so different?
It’s been really fun and exciting. I mean, we couldn’t love Eamonn [Walker] more, and the character of Boden hangs over everything. His shadow is so large. He’s so important to all of them. It’s like he’s the dad that kind of had to let these kids go off on their own, and did he raise them right? Are they going to be able to handle themselves without him? What’s going to change? And it’s been really fun just to have this totally new dynamic in the firehouse, and it really does shake everything up, all the relationships. Everything’s impacted by having this new kind of larger-than-life chief step in.
TVLINE | When the season premieres, has the new chief already been in the firehouse for a little while, or is this his first day of work?
You will find that out pretty quickly, and where he is and where Herrmann is, in terms of his journey, happen really quickly and are kind of fun to reveal right at the beginning.
TVLINE | I was very excited to see Ritter finally get a boyfriend last season. So what’s in store for him?
This is a big, Ritter-heavy season. Ritter has a lot of changes coming his way. He definitely still has this boyfriend in his life, and the boyfriend’s going to cross over into the Chicago Fire world a little more this year in fun and exciting ways, surprising ways.
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