Dermot Mulroney’s Chicago Fire character will cause ‘trouble’

Excitement for Fire in Chicago Season 13 is an absolute highlight, for fans and the cast alike.

“There is a kind of dizziness,” said Daniel Kyri (Ritter) NBC Insider about what it’s like filming the show. “There’s a back-to-school feeling when you come back and just get the chance to do this again. It’s not lost on us how rare this air is. To be able to come back and tell these stories and do it with people that you respect and love working with.”

That cast of characters changes slightly this season with the addition of Dermot Mulroney’s Chief Dom Pascal, who takes the helm at 51. As if that wasn’t intriguing enough, we still have plenty of Season 12 cliffhangers to discuss. What’s going on with Severide’s secret brother? Are Severide and Stella (Miranda Rae Mayo) on solid ground? Are Violet (Hanako Greensmith) and Sam Carver (Jake Lockett) really getting together?

“We’re getting some new faces in Season 13 and there’s some active clashes going on between characters that are going to make our audience question who’s right and who’s wrong in these situations and interactions…” Kyri added. “To see how our characters behave, or kind of resist is going to bring some exciting heat to fans this season. So stay tuned because it’s going to be explosive.”

Read some thoughts below from Fire in Chicago showrunner Andrea Newman on what will happen in the show.

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Fire in Chicago Showrunner Andrea Newman Talks Season 13

NBC Insider: What’s the atmosphere like now that everyone is back on set?

Andrea Newman: It’s been an incredibly exciting start, and Dermot coming on board is part of that. A new boss on set, that’s a bit of an earthquake in terms of all the character dynamics. But it’s also like hitting a refresh button… It feels like there’s a whole new wave of stuff coming that we haven’t seen before, so everyone’s excited about that.

What can fans expect from season 13 of Fire in Chicago?

Thirteen seasons in and for the first time we have a new boss. We’ve changed the leadership of the house, so I think there’s a lot of new character dynamics that we haven’t seen before. He’s definitely not coming in to be Chief Boden (Eamonn Walker) and trying to forge his own path.

The first shift, he says, “I’m not Chief Boden, I’m not trying to be, and there’s new rules coming into the firehouse.” So we know right away that there’s going to be changes. And how everyone reacts to that is really fun to watch as the season goes on.

What is the biggest difference between Boden and Pascal?

(Firehouse 51 is) a family, and Boden has said in the past, “Once someone leaves, they’re never really gone.” They’re always there in some way, and he’s the guy whose door was always open and who was essentially the father of this family. Chief Pascal comes along and plays things much closer to the chest.

He’s kind of a mystery man. And he’s a student of our 51 crew, and he’s going to study people very carefully. And his background is going to be a mystery to our guys. The audience gets a little peek into his personal life in the first episode and beyond, but the people of 51 don’t really know much about him yet. And everyone’s trying to peel back those layers and figure out who this guy is and what he’s really about.

Boden had previously appointed Herrmann as his replacement, but there were some bureaucratic hurdles he had to overcome. Now Pascal comes along. Will Boden’s blessing cause problems between Pascal and Herrmann?

The cool thing about this is that there is a process to becoming a chief, and there are tests that you have to pass. And Herrmann (David Eigenberg) knew that, and there is a progression for him in his pursuit of achieving that. But while he is trying to pass those tests and get that title, there is someone already sitting in his seat, this Chief Pascal…

They can’t both sit in that chair. It’s not big enough, so there’s bound to be some problems between them and then some surprising twists in that relationship.

Although Boden is no longer with Firehouse 51, he is still in town as a CFD Deputy Commissioner. Can fans expect any potential pop-ins from the former chief this season?

He’s there. We’ve talked a lot about the theme of shadows this season. And Boden’s shadow is very much hanging over the firehouse. When Pascal comes in, he’s got big shoes to fill, and he knows that. But (Boden’s) not far away… He’s shaped these people in so many ways, so you feel it that way. But he’s also the deputy commissioner now, so he’s part of the CFD, and he’s definitely going to show up with our gang at some point.

RELATED: What Happened to Chief Wallace Boden in the Chicago Fire?

Season 12 ended with the total bafflement that Severide had an estranged brother, Damon. How will Damon’s continued presence at 51 complicate Severide’s relationship with Stella?

It’s a big complication. It’s a small bombshell that’s been dropped there. This Kidd is Damon’s boss, and she has to decide whether she trusts him enough to keep him in the firehouse, and how Severide feels about that — there’s a love triangle. It’s a meaningful relationship with Severide that he wants to cultivate and get to know the kid, but at the same time, there are some questions about who Damon is and how he kept the secrets that came before from his boss and Severide’s wife.

How is Stellaride doing at the start of Season 13?

The (Stellaride) relationship is solid, but there are definitely issues that Damon brings up. And they also kind of touch on the whole idea of ​​family that Severide kind of floated between him and Kidd at the end of last season. This kid is part of his family now, and how he feels about that and how the shadow of (his late father) Benny Severide plays into that is going to affect their relationship, Kidd’s relationship and Severide’s, Stellaride’s, going forward. But they’re very much in love and a very close couple, so it’s always fun to see how they deal with all the big issues, including the future for both of them.

Violet and Carver quickly became an obsession last season, but ended on shaky terms. Where does their relationship stand as we enter Season 13?

There’s a lot of drama between the two of them. I would say they’re on a roller coaster. So it ended on a bit of a cliff there, and they have a lot to work out, and I think there’s a lot of fun back and forth between them at the beginning of the season. And when I say fun, I think I mean tortured — the tortured kind of fun.

Paramedic Lyla “Lizzie” Novak was an interesting addition in Season 12. Will we see her character explored further this season?

Absolutely. We’re going to get to know Novak (Jocelyn Hudon) on a much deeper level this season. She has this incredible empathy that makes her such a good paramedic, and we’re going to explore the history of that and how it came about.

Where will Cruz’s journey take him in season 13 of Firework?

We love Cruz (Joe Minoso). Cruz has had a great journey this season. He’s kind of on the outs professionally right now and he’s a mentor to those who are younger than him, but he’s got some great stories to tell. It’s such a gift to have 12 seasons of history on a show. You can dive back into it. There’s a theme of shadows, and we’ve seen shadows and ghosts in Season 13. And Cruz is going to have a ghost from the past come into his life. That’s going to be kind of a shock for him and for the audience, I think. There’s a fun story there.

If you watched the season 13 premiere of Fire in Chicago in three words, what would that be?

Mysterious, explosive and revealing, things are going to be shaken up and turned upside down.

Don’t miss the season 13 premiere Fire in Chicago on Wednesday, September 25 at 9 p.m. on NBC. Episodes will be available to stream the following day on Peacock.