'Chicago Fire' Names New Chief to Lead Firehouse 51—and It's Not Herrmann

The action will continue to heat up in the new season as Chicago Fire follows the first responders of Firehouse 51 when the Dick Wolf series returns to NBC for its 13^th season this fall.

“The Season 12 finale is setting up for some real juicy stuff to come next season for sure, and a lot of very heavy character relationship conflict,” showrunner Andrea Newman told Parade. “We do know where we’re going with a bunch of the stories, but they are all intricately connected to the very end of the finale, so I would probably blow it if I talked too much about next season.”

That said, here is what we know about the Chicago Fire release date, cast news and more for Season 13:

When is the release date for Chicago Fire Season 13?

The new season of Chicago Fire will premiere Sept. 25 in its normal time slot at 9 p.m. ET/PT Wednesdays.

What time will Chicago Fire season 13 be on?

When Chicago Fire returns for its 13th season, it will be back in its Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET/PT timeslot.

Who is in the Chicago Fire cast for Season 13?

Taylor Kinney as Lieutenant Kelly Severide

Miranda Rae Mayo as Lieutenant Stella Kidd

Hanako Greensmith as Paramedic in Charge (PIC) Violet Mikami

David Eigenberg as Lieutenant Christopher Herrmann

Christian Stolte as Randall "Mouch" McHolland

Joe Minoso as Firefighter Joe Cruz

Daniel Kyri as Darren Ritter

Jake Lockett as Sam Carver

Jocelyn Hudon as Lyla Novak

Michael Bradway as Jack Damon

Related: Chicago Fire Showrunner on the Cliffhangers and Emotional Twists in the Season 12 Finale

Who is joining the Chicago Fire cast in Season 13?

Dermot Mulroney

Dermot Mulroney will take on the role of Chief Dom Pascal following the departure of Eamonn Walker as Chief Wallace Boden. As reported by Deadline, "Dom Pascal began his career with the CFD but spent the last decade as a chief in sunny Miami. Described as a cheerful person who works well under pressure, and whose leadership style differs from Boden’s, Pascal is estranged from his wife."

In the Season 12 series finale, the idea posed by Boden upon learning he had been promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department was for Christopher Herrmann to become his eventual replacement. But there were a lot of hoops to be jumped through to make that a reality, and it could be that bringing in Chief Pascal is a stopgap measure.

Eigenberg told Deadline, “I want to say he felt like he had the rug pulled from under him because I don’t think [Herrmann] saw what the Chief said to him coming at all. In the real fire service, there are firefighters who stay firefighters their entire career. So, when you become a Lieutenant, you’re not called a firefighter. You are a firefighter, but you are not called that anymore.

“With Herrmann, I think he would’ve been content to stay in the firefighter capacity. If they decide to make him an officer, that’s great because he can lead but I don’t know that there was an organically natural progression for the character to go into that position. So, we have to see how the writers deal with it.”

Who is leaving Chicago Fire in Season 13?

These departures actually happened during Season 12, but they won’t be returning for Season 13.

Kara Killmer

Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) exited following her marriage to Casey (Jesse Spencer) and moved to Oregon to help him raise his foster sons and her adopted daughter.

Alberto Rosende

Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende) left in the first episode of Season 12 to be closer to his newly discovered family in Detroit.

Rome Flynn

Jake Gibson (Rome Flynn) exited to work on himself and get help for his drug problem.

Eamonn Walker

Eamonn Walker, who has played Chief Wallace Boden since the show's inception in 2012, left Firehouse 51 to become the Deputy Commissioner overseeing all of Chicago’s firehouses. It was Walker’s choice to exit as a series regular, but it is possible that he will recur in Season 13.

Is there a trailer for Chicago Fire Season 13?

An official trailer for Chicago Fire Season 13 has yet to be released but check back here. We will post as soon as it’s available.

Are there any spoilers for Chicago Fire Season 13?

The loss of Chief Boden opens up the doors for a new era of Firehouse 51. Before the news broke that Dermot Mulroney would be joining the show, some thought Christopher Herrmann would step into the chief role at the behest of Boden. "You can look after our family," Boden told Herrmann in the Season 12 finale. Severide had made it clear that he was not up for that job after filling in as acting Chief in Boden’s absence.

Also, Severide will be dealing with the fact that he has a half-brother— Jack Damon—his father Benny never bothered to tell him about.

What happened at the end of Chicago Fire Season 12?

The most momentous event in the Season 12 finale was the departure of Chief Boden. As a result of his promotion to Deputy Commissioner, he will no longer be stationed at Firehouse 51 but will move downtown.

Violet and Carver had a fight. She accused him of still having feelings for Stella; he accused her of not having moved on from Evan Hawkins’ death. The last thing he said to her was, "You know I'm not in love with Kidd because I was stupid enough to have fallen in love with you,” and then he disappeared. Stella shared that he had taken a furlough.

Firehouse 51 finally got its replacement rig, but it just wasn’t the same as Mouch struggled to adjust to driving it. He contacted the now retired previous driver and found out about all the modifications that had been made to old rig, which would no longer be allowed. He also revealed he was studying for the lieutenant's test

Just as Severide and Stella Kidd started talking about having children, Severide got some shocking family news when Jack Damon’s secret was finally revealed. It turns out that the late Benny Severide (Treat Williams) was his father, which makes him Kelly Severide’s half-brother.

Related: S.W.A.T. Shakes Up the Cast When It Returns for Season 8

How to watch Chicago Fire

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. Viewers can stream episodes the following day on Peacock.

Where to watch and live stream Chicago Fire online

All 12 seasons of Chicago Fire are available on streaming service Peacock. Previous seasons are also available on Amazon's Prime Video and IMDBTV for a fee.

How many seasons of Chicago Fire are there?

Chicago Fire premiered Oct. 10, 2012. There have been 12 seasons of the NBC hit series. The upcoming season will make 13.

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