JuicyTalk
Chicago Fire is on the verge of returning to primetime for season 15, which means fans will soon get payoff on the deadly cliffhanger from back in the spring. There is some bad news out of One Chicago coming back as part of NBC’s complete fall 2026 schedule, however, and it has nothing to do with any of the firefighters who may die in the first crisis of the season.
Regardless of who dies in the fatal fire in the Chicago Fire season 14 finale, NBC and Wolf Entertainment already confirmed a couple of departures for Firehouse 51, continuing yet another year of cast instability. Joe Minoso, one of the few remaining original cast members left, is exiting the series after 14 years as Joe Cruz. Additionally, Dermot Mulroney’s Dom Pascal is also leaving the show just after a couple of cycles.
Dermot Mulroney’s Final Chicago Fire Run As Dom Pascal Revealed
Ahead of the season 15 premiere, NBC released a batch of photos that confirmed several characters who will survive the life-or-death cliffhanger from the end of season 14. One of the survivors wasn’t terribly shocking, since he was watching the building collapse from the outside rather than alongside the Squad 3, Truck 81, and Engine 51 crews. Unless Chief Pascal into the building after the roof caved in, he was probably just as safe as Violet and Novak on the outside. The season 15 premiere photo confirming his survival shows him standing alone, in the midst of drifting smoke.
His survival won’t matter too much for too long, however. Dermot Mulroney confirmed his episode count for season 15 only includes the premiere, and he filmed his final scenes in late July. With the photo proving that he’ll be back on the scene of the crisis, and considering Chicago Fire‘s tendency to deliver a big time jump in season premieres after any cliffhangers have been resolved, Pascal may not get much screentime before leaving 51 for good.
Why Pascal Was More Of Casey’s Replacement Than Boden’s
Mulroney’s arc on Chicago Fire already seemed finished by the end of the 2026 One Chicago crossover, but the show found a way to bring him back before the final credits rolled on season 14. Ultimately, that wasn’t a sign that Pascal would be back full-time. News broke over the summer that Mulroney was going to leave for good after two full seasons, alongside longtime star Joe Miñoso as Joe Cruz. Mulroney joined as Boden’s replacement in season 13.
On the surface, similarities between Pascal and Casey seem pretty thin. After all, Spencer was the top-billed star before he left in the 200th episode, and his returns as a guest star have each been promoted like major TV events. He was even one half of two of Chicago Fire‘s most popular romances. In comparison, Mulroney has only been credited with 43 episodes ahead of his appearance in the season 15 premiere. Their greatest similarities aren’t due to how long they were part of the cast, but rather how they filled the same kind of role at Firehouse 51.
The biggest change that resulted from Pascal’s first exit in season 15 was technically that Firehouse 51 had once again lost a battalion chief. Dermot Mulroney’s character originally came on board to replace Boden as the leader of the firehouse, and the transition from one chief to another wasn’t easy for the firefighters. Since he was filling Boden’s vacancy at 51 and hasn’t even appeared in the same season as one of Jesse Spencer’s guest-star appearances, he logically shouldn’t seem like a replacement for Casey. Chicago Fire pulled it off in some unexpected ways.
The Chicago Fire team made the very smart decision of using Severide to really bring Pascal into the fold in season 12. He welcomed the new chief into the tradition of smoking cigars outside the firehouse, which was a tradition that he’d maintained with Casey for more than a decade. Already, the drama was visually setting him up as the man who could fill Casey’s shoes, despite Stella Kidd ultimately being promoted to Casey’s former role as the officer on board Truck 81.
After bonding over cigars, Severide and Pacal built a dynamic that was more brotherly than what Severide had developed with Boden over the course of 12 seasons. That was unique among the rest of the heroes at Firehouse 51, who were largely more distant with the chief. In Kidd’s case, she was being actively singled out by Pascal for what he saw as shortcomings.
For the rest of the firehouse, he may have seemed like Boden’s replacement more than anything else. But his relationship with Severide was more akin to Severide’s relationship with Casey, and that was on display for fans to watch unfold, even if the rest of the firefighters couldn’t entirely see it.
Who Will Be Firehouse 51’s New Chief In Chicago Fire Season 15
The seat of the Firehouse 51 chief will once again be vacant after Pascal departs, and it remains to be seen how long that will be true. A promo shot of Taylor Kinney for season 15 shows the actor wearing the double bugles of a CFD captain, rather than the single bugle that he’d worn so long as a lieutenant. That will make him the highest-ranking officer at Firehouse 51, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he ranks highly enough to actually lead the firehouse.
A loophole in the form of Boden (or any other higher-up at the CFD) appointing him as the leader without holding the rank of chief isn’t out of the question. Budget cuts were reducing the fire department’s staff in season 14, so perhaps a shortage of chiefs could result in certain captains being promoted to fill the administrative role as well as active role as a firefighter across the city.
New cast members who were announced for season 15 didn’t include a new fire chief. Matthew Daddario and Da’Vinchi are both on board to play new firefighters, and there’s no reason to expect that Rob Morgan will be back as Chief Hopkins. Unless Chicago Fire has kept a tight lid on the casting of the next fire chief, an internal promotion to 51’s official leadership position seems likely, and nobody has been set up for that change more than Kelly Severide. Fans will learn the truth when One Chicago returns to NBC on Wednesday, October 7.
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- Release Date
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October 10, 2012
- Showrunner
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Andrea Newman
- Directors
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Michael Brandt
- Writers
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Michael Brandt
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Taylor Kinney
Kelly Severide
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David Eigenberg
Christopher Herrmann
