Chicago Fire very soon returns in the 2025 TV schedule with what is set to be a intense storyline for Joe Cruz after how the Season 13 fall finale unfolded back in November. While that final episode of 2024 didn't end on an imminent life-or-death cliffhanger like Chicago Med did, Cruz's past comes back to haunt him in the new year... his very, very distant past. Speaking with CinemaBlend ahead of the winter premiere on January 8, actor Joe Mińoso hyped what to expect as Chicago Fire revisits Cruz's very first big storyline from way back in Season 1.
As fans may remember from back in November of the 2024 TV schedule (or a more recent rewatch via a Peacock subscription), Cruz was being taunted by bullet-shaped pendants filled with ashes, and he got a clue of what was coming when Leon showed up to warn him that Flaco's cousin had been released from prison. Yes, Cruz's decision all those years ago to let Flaco burn to death to protect Leon is haunting him yet again, and it's a safe bet that whatever Junior has planned for the firefighter, it's not going to be good for him.
Not many shows last for thirteen seasons, let alone revisit a storyline well over a decade later. (Flaco's first appearance was in just the ninth episode of Chicago Fire's first season in 2012.) When I spoke with Joe Mińoso about whether he'd held out hope for the show to revisit what was the first big arc for Cruz, he shared:
I don't know that I'd given up hope on it. I think it's just one of those things where you keep moving through life and you just forget that that's a possibility. I think even for the writers... So few shows go this long, and I think it was so incredible of them to be that brave, to recall something that old and figure out a way to bring it back and make it fresh and interesting, and be able to bring in new fans to understand what we're doing and how we're tracking all of that.
A lot has certainly changed on Chicago Fire over the twelve seasons since Cruz made that fateful decision about Flaco, ranging from in-universe developments like the character getting married and becoming a father to real-life shifts like Andrea Newman taking over as sole showrunner.
With every episode of Chicago Fire so far available streaming on Peacock now, it's not hard to access the early days of Firehouse 51. Mińoso went on to share what's "fully ridiculous" in the best way about revisiting Cruz's Flaco storyline in the winter premiere:
It's a joy to have a job as an actor. It is pretty remarkable and almost impossible to have one this long, and so to be able to be talking about things like storylines that your character visited 12 years ago, and we're doing it again, seems nearly impossible. Like, fully ridiculous. So as of right now, I just consider it the greatest blessing of my life. It's incredible that this is what we're doing, and this is what my life is.
Of course, even longtime fans might have a hard time remembering the specifics of a storyline that kicked off back in 2012. But did Joe Mińoso himself have an approach to refreshing his memory on the particulars of the first meaty storyline for Joe Cruz? I asked the actor that very question, and he explained:
I went back and I rewatched the episodes that deal with that storyline, but it didn't really take much freshening. You have to understand, I wasn't a series regular on the show at that point. I was just a guest star, and I had barely done anything as an actor that anybody would know me in. This was the single largest storyline or role that had ever happened to me. So it's very vivid in my mind.
Believe it or not, there was once a time when Joe Mińoso – whose character is so pivotal nowadays – only held guest star status on Chicago Fire, so it's no wonder that Cruz's first big arc has lingered with the actor all these years later. He continued:
I remember so vividly how it felt to have the fire on my ears when I was deciding to close the door on Flaco. And back then, we were still doing burning embers. When we were doing shots, it was actually, like literally fire falling down from the sky on us. I have shot memories, and it's really vivid in my mind. So it didn't take much to get back there.
Mińoso made it clear that getting "back there" was an exciting opportunity for him in Season 13; Cruz himself surely won't be so excited as his past comes back to haunt him. We can only hope that Chloe and the kids are left out of the mess! Unfortunately, the promo doesn't drop any details, although it does reassure that Severide will be back after missing the fall finale. Take a look:
Don't miss the winter premiere of Chicago Fire Season 13 on Wednesday, January 8 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, between Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. All three shows have cliffhangers of sorts to deal with after how the fall finales ended, so there may be a lot in store in One Chicago ahead of the long-awaited crossover event.
