Chicago Fire is peeling back another layer of the onion that is Lizzy Novak.
In this Wednesday’s episode (NBC, 9/8c), a surprise visitor with a connection to the paramedic joins ambo for a late-night ride-along. “There’s humor and heart and some past that comes back into her life,” previews Jocelyn Hudon, who joined the NBC drama as Novak last season and was promoted to series regular for the current 13th season.
Below, the actress also talks about Novak’s bond with paramedic partner Violet, her feelings about Chief Dom Pascal and her character’s stance on romantic relationships.
TVLINE | Novak has an interesting attitude about romance and relationships. I talked to showrunner Andrea Newman about how I wasn’t sure what exactly Novak’s feeling about Chief Pascal, because their dynamic is so interesting, and she’s such a wild card. How would you describe that particular relationship?
I think Episode 8, for Novak and the chief, was very important, because we kind of were both new. He’s figuring it out, I’ve joined 51, permanently, and we just kind of find support and friendship in each other, and for me, he’s a mentor. I look up to him, and I look to him for guidance. That’s how I approach it.
TVLINE | She did seem to have a little bit of attraction to him in the beginning, and she mentioned that she once had a little something with a supervisor.
Yeah. I think Novak sometimes just shoots things out into the world. [Laughs] Like, she works hard, she plays hard. I don’t know if she takes too much stock into little comments like that. But I think, underneath, there’s a lot of playfulness and humor and levity to this character. But once you strip it back, she’s grounded and full of heart, and I think a relationship with the chief more so in a mentorship way is where her true thoughts lie.
TVLINE | Do you think that her casual stance about relationships is because she truly enjoys that? Or is she trying to protect her heart because of something that’s happened in the past?
I think a bit of both. There is something that comes up, eventually, in [Episode] 14 that gives us more of a sneak peek into her past and life and relationships, and that might help answer that question a little.
TVLINE | We got a little bit of a hint that something traumatic might’ve happened in her family when they had that call with the suicide victim. Is that something that’s going to be illuminated more?
I hope so. I don’t know. We don’t touch on that in 14. We have something else, but I hope we get more background into what happened.
TVLINE | I imagine it’s not an easy thing to come into a show that’s been on this long and has such a tight-knit cast. And on top of that, you’re coming in as the partner of someone who had a very strong partnership already in Brett, and between Hanako Greensmith and Kara Killmer. What was that experience like for you in those early days last season, when you first joined?
There’s a lot of people who’ve been there for, like, 12 years. So I knew I’m not creating it with them, I’m joining something. So I was just there to experience it and just, like, ease myself into the group. They were very receptive, and everyone’s really nice, and I think the best thing about the cast is everyone is so funny, and no one takes anything too seriously. That’s how I exist, as well. [Laughs] So I think I fit in pretty quickly, because I make jokes a lot and have a sense of humor. So I think we meshed very quickly. And then working with Hanako, we’re very similar. We’re weird, we’re funny, we’re serious. We get along really well. So that partnership between those two characters is just authentic because that’s truly us when we work together.
TVLINE | Violet and Lizzie were on our list of dynamic duos on TV last year.
Oh, nice!
TVLINE | I felt like Violet really needed Novak to kind of pull her out of the darkness and get her back to her old self. Violet used to be more like Novak when she first joined the show.
Yeah, I think she has a lot of responsibility, and she’s experienced a lot of darkness, too. So I think that’s why, sometimes, my character’s light and flippant in some moments, but it is kind of just to, like, shake it up and change the energy and be like, “OK, we’re good.” We have such a serious job that I think having levity really helps just keep us not so dark.
TVLINE | There’s such a great playfulness and a balance between the two of them. They really complement each other. Did you feel that right away, or did it take some easing into?
I felt it during the network test, because I was auditioning for the scene — I think it was Episode 9 of Season 12 — where I’m with the kid with the gun, and when I was doing the audition, I kept, like, looking back at her character to be with me and advise. We kind of built it from the audition, I would say, that partnership, and yeah, it came just naturally. We complement each other really well. She kind of takes charge in a lot of the incidents, and Novak is there to support and go along and be there right alongside her. Like in [the] episode with the C-section scene, Novak’s like, “I’m not leaving. I’m here with you. If we both go down, we both go down.” So they’re just, like, bonded.
TVLINE | I love that they’re giving you more scenes now with other characters. We’re seeing her interact more with Herrmann, with Ritter. What’s your favorite dynamic, outside of Violet and Novak?
Oh, Ritter, for sure. Novak and Ritter together are awesome. They’re both fun. They’re goofy. They’re, like, mischievous. [Laughs] I really like them together.
TVLINE | Novak has a lot of interesting hobbies, activities. Is that all stuff that you do in real life? Did they write that into the script once they saw how physical you are?
That is all stuff I do in real life. I wake up, and I have to do stuff with my body. I go to SoulCycle or work out or do Pilates or Taekwondo or yoga or whatever, but I, personally, have a lot of hobbies. [Laughs] So it was really cool to join a show that honored that and wrote that into my character, which I’ve never had before.
