Chicago Fire’s Plans for New Chief in Season 13 Revealed After Eamonn Walker’s Exit

Eamonn Walker has departed Chicago Fire, and a new chief will be taking over at the start of Season 13. However, it’s going to be an original character in the role rather than a current character from the cast stepping up.

Per Deadline, Herrmann (David Eigenberg) won’t be the new chief on the series, despite the show seemingly setting up that storyline in Season 12. Reportedly, the chief will be an original character named Dom Pascal, described as beginning his career with the CFD after previously serving as a fire chief in Miami, Florida. The character, which hasn’t yet been cast, is further described as “a cheerful person who works well under pressure, and whose leadership style differs from Boden’s. He and his wife are estranged.”

Eamonn Walker had starred as Battalion Chief Wallace Boden since the show’s first season. In the finale of Season 12, titled “Never Say Goodbye,” the Chicago Fire character was appointed as the new Deputy Commissioner of the CFD. That allowed him to step down as a series regular but still continue to make appearances in a recurring role. Other cast member exits during Season 12 included Kara Killmer’s Sylvie Brett and Alberto Rosende’s Blake Gallo.

Eamonn Walker Left as Series Regular After 12 Seasons

“[In] storytelling and in terms of real life, 12 years is a long time and things need to change, just dynamic-wise. You want new characters and you want new dynamics,” showrunner Andrea Newman said about the cast member exits in a TVLine interview. “Actor-wise, 12 years is a long [time]. Nobody expects in TV [that] they’re going to be anywhere for 12 years, I can say that for sure, from all sides.”

Newman added that the casting shakeups allow the writers “to really get to arc these things out and see these characters change… But you need to mix it up. It can’t be the same the whole time.”

Chicago Fire was created by Derek Haas and Michael Brandt. It first debuted on NBC in 2012 and has since aired more than 250 episodes across 12 seasons. Season 13 was ordered in March, and the Season 12 finale aired in May. The series is the first installment of the Chicago franchise from Wolf Entertainment. Executive produced by Dick Wolf, the connected shows also include Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. There have also been crossovers with the Law & Order franchise, and a short-lived spinoff, Chicago Justice, aired in 2017.