Contains spoilers for “Chicago Fire” Season 12, Episode 15 — “Under Pressure”
“Chicago Fire” fans, do you have the right stuff? Because Joey McIntyre of “New Kids on the Block” is set to make his debut on the drama during “Under Pressure,” and he’s set to bring the heat to everyone’s favorite troop of firefighters.
Per People Magazine, McIntyre will play a character named Lorenzo. As part of Firehouse 51’s continuing rivalry with other fire stations, Lorenzo hails from a neighboring station. He ends up getting involved in Tony (Tony Ferraris) and Capp’s (Randy Flagler) ongoing campaign to break records related to firetrucks by shattering the “fastest rescue squad pull” benchmark. Apparently, Lorenzo stands in opposition to their goal. But might he end up aiding their quest?
McIntyre announced his guest role via Instagram, where he posted some behind-the-scenes pictures and wrote, “Surprise! Had a blast repping a rival firehouse with these good people on @NBCOneChicago fans: tune in to see me in the role of “Lorenzo” on #ChicagoFire this Wednesday at 9/8c on @NBC!”
This definitely won’t mark the first time the boy band member has stepped before the lens — and one of his fellow NKOTB members had long been angling to get McIntyre on his successful prime-time drama.
Donnie Wahlberg wanted to get McIntyre on Blue Bloods too
Joey McIntyre has made a name for himself outside of New Kids on the Block by taking on various acting roles. He’s appeared in big-screen versions of “The Fantasticks” and “Tony and Tina’s Wedding,” both after appearing in stage versions of the musicals. He showed up in 18 episodes of “Boston Public” as Colin Flynn, and is in the film “New Year’s Eve.” He pops up as Gerald McCarthy in “The McCarthys” and played Michael Sutton in all four of Lifetime’s adaptations of V.C. Andrews’ “Cutler” series. McIntyre has also dipped his toes into the reality show arena, competing in Season 1 of “Dancing with the Stars” and making it to Week 5. On Broadway, he’s had major parts in productions of “Waitress” and “Wicked.”
McIntyre, of course, isn’t the only member of his band to become a big acting success. His bandmate, Donnie Wahlberg, has anchored “Blue Bloods” for over 14 seasons and the actor has never hesitated to reference his boy band past. He made fans flip out by bringing his “Blue Bloods” co-stars into NKOTB music videos, among other cross-references. He told Andy Cohen on his Sirius XM podcast “Andy Cohen Live” that one of his major goals for the final season of “Blue Bloods” is to get McIntyre on the program. “Our executive producer said, ‘If this is the last year, is there a bucket list item you want?’ I said, ‘Yes. Get freaking Joey on the show because you told me you were gonna get him on the show a decade ago and we’re still waiting,’ so we’ll see.”
Ironically, Wahlberg replied to McIntyre’s post with a “Let’s Go!” and a flame emoji. And before the week’s up, “Chicago Fire” fans will also have had McIntryre set their worlds on fire.
