Chicago Fire is swiftly moving forward with Season 13 in the 2024 TV schedule, and the new era of Chief Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) at Firehouse 51 is going better for some than others. Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Boden's replacement bonded over a common enemy, leading to a scene at the end of the latest episode that left me missing Casey (Jesse Spencer). Fortunately, when I recently spoke with David Eigenberg, he dropped some comments that can make any longtime One Chicago fan smile.
The most recent episode aired on November 13 as the last before the fall finale and beginning of the 2025 TV schedule. The ending saw Severide approach Pascal and invite him to partake in the classic Severide/Casey ritual of smoking cigars on the apron of 51. There's no reason for Severide not to carry on the tradition if he feels a moment is worthy, but dang it, it made me nostalgic for the days of Casey on Truck, Severide on Squad, and Boden as the chief. Jesse Spencer's departure in Season 10 truly was the end of an era.
When I spoke with David Eigenberg about sticking to the script on Chicago Fire during NBC's One Chicago junket, I also noted to the star that there aren't many casts with actors who have been working on a show together for more than 200 episodes and into double-digit seasons. (You can stream every episode so far with a Peacock subscription now.) Eigenberg, who has been playing Herrmann since the very first scene of the very first episode, responded:
We've been very, very fortunate, and we go back a long way now. Taylor and I and Christian and Joe and Tony and Randy. We go back 13 years. I was 47 when we started, and I'm 60. We've gone through a lot.
Chicago Fire isn't a show like Law & Order: SVU, which has just one star who has been around from the very first season with Mariska Hargitay. (Ice-T is a very close second among Law & Order actors.) Of the current Season 13 cast, David Eigenberg, Taylor Kinney, Christian Stolte, Tony Ferraris, and Randy Flagler have all stuck around from the beginning.
Jesse Spencer was an original member of the cast as well, and there were many shared cigar breaks between him as Casey and Taylor Kinney as Severide over the years. Thinking back on their bond reminded me of one of the current strongest bonds at 51: Herrmann and Mouch, both of whom are working towards a promotion within the CFD.
So, I seized the opportunity to ask David Eigenberg about the Herrmann/Mouch friendship and their different approaches to preparing for their upcoming exams. The actor weighed in:
Mouch is thorough. Herrmann is is a 'fly by the seat of your pants' kind of guy, although he knows what needs to be done. I think he's like a 'when the chips are down' kind of guy. So Herrmann studying skills are not terrific. I think he also is not particularly great at studying, so I think he's a little scattered, not that I am in real life. But Mouch is going to go at it hard. He's an 'if you're going to do it, do it your best' guy. I'm more like, 'I do it my best in the moment.' [laughs]
In addition to the cast members who have been part of Chicago Fire for thirteen seasons and counting, there are other stars who have certainly accumulated plenty of episodes. Eamonn Walker was key to One Chicago for the first twelve seasons as Boden, Kara Killmer played Brett from Season 3 - Season 12, and Stella Kidd's journey to becoming lieutenant started with Miranda Rae Mayo joining in Season 4.
The ensemble is just about as strong as it's ever been in the current era, even though it is removed from the days of Casey. Eigenberg also said of the Chicago Fire cast:
We've had tough days when life occurs and things occur around us in everybody's lives that are hard, but in terms of the personalities, we genuinely really like each other, so we laugh almost all day... Because we are not a mopey set, and people aren't concerned heavily with their careers in a way that is sometimes what happens in the industry. We're all there for each other.
For now, we can only wait and see if the current cast remains unchanged for the rest of Season 13. Truck has gone through a number of different firefighters over the past few seasons, to the point that Pascal even commented on it to Stella. Plus, if Violet losing Hawkins is any indication, tragedy can still strike at the most unexpected times. For now, check out the promo for the fall finale:
Tune in to NBC on Wednesday, November 20 for the fall finale of Chicago Fire Season 13 at 9 p.m. ET, between the fall finales of Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. If you'll want some One Chicago action during winter hiatus until the shows return in the new year, you can find earlier seasons streaming on Peacock.
