Chicago Fire’s plans for a new commander in season 13 have been revealed following Eamonn Walker’s departure
Eamonn Walker has left Chicago Fire and a new commander will take over at the start of Season 13. However, it will be an original character in the role rather than a current cast member stepping up.
According to Deadline, Herrmann (David Eigenberg) will not be the new commander in the series, although the show appears to have set up that storyline in Season 12. The commander will reportedly be an original character named Dom Pascal, who is described as having started his career with CFD after previously serving as a fire chief in Miami, Florida. The character, who has yet to be cast, is further described as “a fun person who works well under pressure and has a different leadership style than Boden. He and his wife have been estranged.”
Eamonn Walker has played Battalion Commander Wallace Boden since the show’s first season. In the Season 12 finale, “Never Say Goodbye,” the Chicago Fire character is appointed as the new Deputy Commissioner of the CFD. That allows him to step down as a series regular but continue to appear in a recurring role. Other actors leaving the cast in Season 12 include Kara Killmer’s Sylvie Brett and Alberto Rosende’s Blake Gallo.
Eamonn Walker leaves his role as a series regular after 12 seasons “[In] storytelling terms and in real life terms, 12 years is a long time and things need to change, just in terms of dynamics. You want new characters and you want new dynamics,” showrunner Andrea Newman said of the actors leaving the cast in an interview with TVLine. “In terms of actors, 12 years is a long time. No one expects in television [that] they’re going to be around for 12 years, I can say that for sure, from any angle.” Newman added that changing casts allows writers to “really be able to bring these things out and see these characters change… But you have to mix it up. It can’t always be like that.”
Chicago Fire was created by Derek Haas and Michael Brandt. It first debuted on NBC in 2012 and has since aired over 250 episodes over 12 seasons. Season 13 was ordered in March, and the Season 12 finale aired in May. The series is the first installment of the Chicago franchise from Wolf Entertainment. Executive produced by Dick Wolf, the show’s tie-ins also include Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. There have also been crossovers with the Law & Order series and a short-lived spinoff, Chicago Justice, aired in 2017.
