Summer is finally coming to an end, and that means it’s time for the best season of the year.
That’s right: It’s fall premiere time, and One Chicago is ready to spring into action.
We know you’re as ready as we are to return to the Windy City, and we’ve got an exclusive interview to rev your engines!
TV Fanatic had the opportunity to sit down with Andrea Newman, an industry veteran with a very impressive resume. She’s worked on shows like Felicity, 24, Cold Case, Point Pleasant, and The Secret Circle.
Andrea currently serves as the showrunner for Chicago Fire. During our interview, she opened up about the series’ unique dynamics, keeping things fresh after so many years, and what we can expect from the Season 13 premiere.
Talking to Andrea was like talking to a Chicago Fire super fan. She is so passionate about and proud of this show, and for good reason — it’s a massive hit, drawing in millions of dedicated viewers every week.
Having met the impassioned showrunner, I now know where the show gets its heart. Andrea was a joy to talk with. I’m so excited to share the conversation with all of you!
Andrea, hi! Thank you so much for meeting with me today! First of all, congratulations on reaching thirteen seasons! That is just incredible!
Hi Haley! Thank you, lucky thirteen!
Yeah, absolutely! Thank you again for taking the time to chat today. I know our readers are itching to get back to the 51, so they’ll be excited to hear from you.
Love it!
You have been involved in several massive shows in your career, including Private Practice, 24, Cold Case, and, of course, most recently, Chicago Fire.
How has your experience on other primetime hits informed your approach to Chicago Fire?
That’s an interesting question! You know, I think what’s really unique is that every staff is different, every cast is different, and you get to know these casts and staffs.
But in this case, to go thirteen years, you really do become a family. It’s different. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I mean, no show goes this long; it’s crazy!
So many of our cast, from the jump, have been here, and it’s something to watch it all evolve and watch the characters evolve over that much time. It’s really a totally different experience than I’ve had before.
What’s really fun about Chicago Fire is that it’s really informed by all of those things that I’ve done.
I’ve done comedy and rom-com-type stuff like Felicity, and I’ve done drama and police procedural stuff like 24 and Cold Case, and a soap — Private Practice — this show has all of those things. This is five shows in one.
It’s a challenge because you’ve got the comedy, you’ve got the relationships, you’ve got the action. So in a way, all those [shows] informed getting here and being able to do something that has that kind of breadth.
I think that’s really important — what you said about how so many of your cast have been around since the very beginning, and that’s really so rare.
Even on shows that have longevity, we don’t really see cast members sticking around for thirteen years. It’s really impressive — I think it speaks to the environment and the culture that you’ve created there.
Yeah, I think so. It’s funny, we were just talking about Eamonn [Walker], who obviously isn’t here this season, was such a part of that.
He came in as an actor with real experience, and there were a lot of younger actors who were new and hadn’t done a lot of stuff. So they really looked to him to lead the way.
He’s such a warm, paternal presence, and he created this vibe on a set of people who just love to be around each other, have a great time, and totally respect each other.
I think that set the course for this show in so many ways, so we were so lucky to have him. His presence is still very felt by the people he formed, the actors he formed, and the show that he formed in a lot of ways.
Absolutely. I already know Eamonn’s presence is going to be missed as a regular. A lot of fans are pretty devastated to see him go, but we’re glad he’ll still be around.
He will be! His presence will still be there, and we’ll see him for sure in an episode or more.
Good, that’s good to hear! So after we learned that [Eamonn Walker] was stepping back and Chief Boden would be replaced, the news broke that Dermot Mulroney would be joining the cast for Season 13.
We’re super excited about that, big fans of Dermot Mulroney here! We hear he’s going to play the new chief, Dom Pascal. What can you tell us about this new character and how he’ll fit in with the rest of 51?
This character has been so fun to write, and then Dermot appears and brings so much to it himself. He is so fantastic, and we’ve had so much fun with him.
From the jump, we knew we didn’t want to have a Boden-like leader, that whoever came in was going to be really different and feel really different — and man, is Pascal different than Boden! He’s a mysterious character; we really have a lot of layers to peel back on him.
He’s not the speech-giving guy; he’s not the “give you a hug” guy. He plays things close to the vest, and he’s got a new approach. He says that from the jump: “I’m not trying to be Boden; I’m making my own way here. Things are going to change.”
So, everybody is going to have different reactions to that, and it’s been really fun to write these characters.
The ones that you think will maybe click aren’t necessarily the ones that click, and there are surprising bonds that are formed where people you think are going to be oil and water all of a sudden come together. It really shakes up the whole firehouse and all the dynamics.
The audience gets glimpses of [Pascal] before the other characters do, of his personal life, so we get to know a little bit more about him than even the firehouse does in the first couple of episodes.
So we’ll have a little insight into just how curious this guy is and how much his personal life is hidden from the firehouse.
That’s really exciting! I’m definitely excited about the character, and kind of seeing some new blood on the show.
Yeah! It’s really fun to see how one character — and he’s the leader of the firehouse, so it’s a big character — impacts all the dynamics, all the relationships. That’s going to be fun to unfold as the series progresses.
We lost four major characters last year, so we’re really looking forward to seeing that new blood and kind of fleshing out some of the other new characters.
I will say that our readers and I are a little anxious to see what’s coming for Severide and Stella, especially with everything that was revealed in the finale about Damon and his identity. Is there anything you can tease about what’s next for them?
Well, there are big decisions to be made for both of them. It affects their relationship going forward, what decisions are made, and exactly what Severide’s relationship with Damon involves.
Ooh, okay! So, I wanted to ask — running a show with two spinoffs running concurrently can’t be easy. How do you manage to keep Fire fresh and organic while also maintaining continuity with P.D. and Med?
We work really closely with those guys. We see them all the time. It’s like, hallway chats will turn into a little mini-crossover event, where all of a sudden it’s, “Oh yeah, that would be fun, why don’t we bring Trudy on for that episode.”
In terms of keeping it fresh, and keeping the stories kind of sparkly and fresh, I always say it’s that “truth is stranger than fiction” thing.
We have so many firefighters on the show, we have firefighter consultants, some of our actors are firefighters — you know, Ferraris, who plays Tony, is an actual firefighter — we have a bunch of firefighters who are on the engine.
And they tell us their stories. We’re always talking and hearing what’s really going on and what’s happening out in the world and out in the streets of Chicago.
We get to bring that back, and there’s always something new, something surprising, that we get to play with for a story and for action especially.
That’s really cool. That’s what makes it feel so realistic.
Yeah, and we keep it real. Steve Chikerotis, who was a firefighter and deputy commissioner for a long time, is a huge part of our show. He’s a producer on the show.
He is on the set constantly, making sure things are real. He always brings the voices of other firefighters, too. He’ll say, “Firefighters who are watching love it when we keep it real and do it this way or that way.”
We really do try, especially emotionally, to keep it real but also, when we’re doing the action, there’s always a firefighter there to make sure it’s legit and what they would actually do.
From a fan’s perspective, it’s really cool that we get to see something so real.
I think also, the fact that we have both comedy and drama is so real to the firehouse. We do ride-alongs, and that kind of humor, to keep yourself afloat when things are dark or hard, is such a critical part of any first responder’s life. I love reflecting on the show and getting to do the comedy and light moments.
That’s awesome. In a previous interview, you mentioned that Season 12 felt like a full 22-episode run despite only being 13 episodes long. Are you excited to get to go back to a full season? Is that intimidating? How are you feeling about that?
That’s a good question. I think 22 [episodes] lets you evolve things in the way we’re used to. We build in twists and turns and things like that. I love having the full 22 in terms of where you can get with a character from one to 22.
It feels like a year in someone’s life. To me, that’s great. It’s a gift to the writers to be able to do that many and explore that many, especially with a huge cast. We want to hit all these characters as much as we can. So yeah, 22 is great for us. We love it.
We definitely do, too! We missed seeing all the different characters and their individual stories play out last season, so we’re excited for that to come back, too.
Yeah, so are we. That’s awesome to hear; thank you.
Well, it was really great talking with you! I really appreciate you taking the time to chat today. I know our readers are going to be thrilled to hear from you.
Of course! I’m so excited that you’re excited about it.
I really think this season, people are going to love it. I genuinely do.
Dermot is just a wonderful addition, and there’s so much fun stuff to play with, so hopefully, everybody will have a good time on this ride this season.
That’s a wrap, Fire fans!
Drop your thoughts in the comments, and let us know what you’re hoping to see when we return to the firehouse at the end of the month.
We’ll meet you right back here on September 25 for the Chicago Fire Season 13 premiere.