Chicago Fire entered a new era in fall of the 2024 TV schedule with Season 13 as the drama's first without Eamonn Walker on board as Chief Boden. Instead, Firehouse 51 is operating under Chief Dom Pascal, played by One Chicago new arrival Dermot Mulroney. Some friction was to be expected when the firefighters and paramedics faced a new chief for the very first time, but some comments from Mulroney shed what I see as some new light on the status quo at 51 as the season continues.
To be honest – when the news first broke that Fire had cast Dermot Mulroney as the new chief rather than honoring Boden's wish for Herrmann to be his successor, part of me assumed that Mulroney's time would be limited to however long it would take for Herrmann to be promoted in Season 13. Much like there was little doubt that Brett Dalton's Lt. Pelham was temporarily filling the spot on Truck until Stella Kidd was ready to step up as lieutenant in Season 10, Pascal seemed like he might not be intended to stick around. (You can revisit the Pelham/Kidd arc streaming with a Peacock subscription.)
I'm reconsidering in light of what Mulroney told TV Insider when asked if Pascal would step aside for Herrmann if the latter passed the necessary tests. He said:
I feel like Pascal was put directly in Herrmann’s path from leftover from Season 12 and Boden’s [Eamonn Walker] exit. I think he was kind of being set up, as I understand it, as the heir apparent to that seat behind the chief’s desk. Well, sorry, Pascal’s here, and I don’t feel like he’s going anywhere. So the writers are going to have to figure that out.
Well, if Herrmann is going to get the top spot at Firehouse 51, something may need to go sideways for Pascal, since it certainly sounds like the new chief definitely doesn't see his place as temporary! Showrunner Andrea Newman described Pascal's arrival as causing an "earthquake" at 51 when she explained why Dermot Mulroney was the right fit to play the character, and he was shaking up the firehouse pretty quickly.
Giving Stella a hard time about the Truck turnover and pointing out that the Truck and Squad lieutenants being married isn't exactly protocol didn't endear him to 51 (or Fire fans) en masse, not least because Stellaride already have a complicated journey without Pascal as an extra variable. After I was on board with the idea of "fresh blood" coming to Chicago Fire last season, maybe it's time that I start thinking of Pascal as a permanent fixture in the firehouse rather than Herrmann's placeholder!
At this point, I'm really wondering if/when/how Chicago Fire plans to bring back Boden in Season 13. When Eamonn Walker's departure was announced ahead of the Season 12 finale in the spring, the door was open for him to still recur as his longtime character without signing back on as a series regular. Boden is still part of the CFD; could he make an appearance and add an extra wrinkle or two to the situation with Pascal at 51?
Only time will tell at this point, but at least Chicago Fire didn't write out Walker by sending Boden far from the Windy City like with Dawson's exit in Season 7 and then Casey's in Season 10. New episodes of Chicago Fire with Dermot Mulroney's Dom Pascal as 51's chief will continue airing on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, between Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. You can also revisit past episodes of all three shows on Peacock.