Watch or skip: ‘Chicago Fire’ Season 13 on NBC/Peacock, Dermot Mulroney joins hit Dick Wolf-produced series
As Chicago Fire returns for its 13th season, leading NBC’s One Chicago lineup — Chicago PD and Chicago Med are also returning for new episodes — the fire department-based procedural is also facing its biggest cast change since season 12. With his character’s promotion, Eamonn Walker will no longer be a solid day-to-day presence. But that also means there’s a new chief in town, and the ever-reliable Dermot Mulroney is taking his first shift at Firehouse 51. Chicago Fire, created by Derek Haas and Michael Brandt with Dick Wolf as executive producer, also stars Taylor Kinney, Miranda Rae Mayo, David Eigenberg, Hanako Greensmith and, in a promotion for season 13 regular cast member, Jocelyn Hudon.
CHICAGO FIRE – SEASON 13: STREAM OR SKIP?
Opening scene: As Jack Damon (Michael Bradway) locks up his locker at the fire station, Dom Pascal (Mulroney) arrives for his first day as the station’s new battalion chief.
Key Point: The looks on the faces of firefighters Randall “Mouch” McHolland (Christian Stolte), Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso), and Lieutenant Stella Kidd (Mayo) are a mixture of wariness and “Who is this guy?” when Pascal arrives. Wallace Boden (Walker) is a major influence in their lives, both professionally and personally, and Pascal is settling into a closed culture, or at least a well-seasoned firehouse culture. But the new commander isn’t shy about laying down his own ground rules.
Like no phones during meals. (“If you guys find out anything new about each other, I’d love it.”) Or the detailed after-action reports from Lieutenants Kidd, Seviride (Kenny), and Herrmann (Eigenberg), which feel more like interrogations. But Pascal proves his worth right away on the field. At the scene of a dangerous chemical fire with all sorts of shrapnel flying, he sets up a perimeter, deploys cautiously, and ignores the flames as he personally drags an injured citizen to safety. “I think he’s missing the fear gene,” paramedic Lyla “Lizzie” Novak (Hudon) tells her partner, Paramedic Violet Mikami (Greensmith).
There are other personal issues at play. Now that firefighter Jack Damon (Michael Bradway) is revealed to be his half-brother, Kelly Severide is leaning toward the idea of mentoring. Severide and newlywed Kidd discuss whether they want to have children, while Pascal finds that husband and wife working the same shift is not allowed. And although Mikami apologizes to firefighter Sam Carver (Jake Lockett) for ruining their budding romance, Carver seems preoccupied with a new woman in his life. There’s a lot going on at Firehouse 51. But when that alarm goes off—and it always does—it’s time to put it down and suit up. “Cutters and jaws!”
What show does that remind you of? 9-1-1 premiered its eighth and second season on ABC last month, while spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star will premiere its fifth and final season on Fox. And the One Chicago universe loves a good crossover, so stay tuned for what’s happening on Chicago Med and Chicago PD.
Our Take: The Chief’s Chair. It’s everything in this place, determining how the firefighters and paramedics of Firehouse 51 perform, how they conduct themselves at the station, and even their personal schedules. (“I want everyone to come in a half hour from now, I have an equipment check that needs a little familiarization.”) In other words, the impression Dermot Mulroney made on Chicago Fire Season 13 was immediate. But so was the new presence of Chief Dom Pascal in the lives of the staff. “I want to make sure there’s no awkwardness when I’m in there,” Pascal tells Christopher Herrmann during the introduction, because Pascal knows that Herrmann himself has—in fact, still is; it’s complicated—designing his own chair.
With Mulroney’s arrival, Chicago Fire is certainly shaking things up in a new way. But a veteran series will also develop a lot of chemistry with its entire cast, and Fire continues to hold onto that. While these guys are always pulling their coworkers aside to ask “Are you okay?” about their relationships, this is also a series that likes to take the action out on the field. Lights and sirens and reacting to uncertain danger when the call for survival comes — Chicago Fire is at its best when all its devices are in motion and the focus is on characters working as a team in their professional capacity.
