‘We gave it our all’

Chicago Fire won’t be the same. The series is experiencing its second major exit in just days, throwing the show into a bit of chaos.

While at the Flashback Weekend Chicago 2026, actor Dermot Mulroney, 62, broke his silence on his exit from Chicago Fire after just two seasons. His news comes after Joe Minoso announced he was leaving the procedural drama.

“This season, sadly, I have one episode,” Dermot said, explaining that he was scheduled to film his final scenes. “They write the character off, so we gave it our all for two seasons. They wrote an incredible storyline that put me, as an actor, on a high challenge.”

“Sad to see it go,” he continued.

Who did Dermot Mulroney play on Chicago Fire?

Dermot, who is best known for My Best Friend’s Wedding and New Girl, joined Chicago Fire in Season 13 as Battalion Chief Dom Pascal. His character had a tragic storyline. During his 13th season, his wife Monica, who is played by KaDee Strickland, died in a car accident.

“It starts to feel really heavy,” Dermot said, comparing filming Chicago Fire to filming a movie. “They asked that of me and I delivered.”

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He continued: “I loved every minute of it, became friends with this incredible crew of people. Some of them had been there 15 years…I had 10 episodes last season, their season 14, so I still got to continue. They gave me incredibly challenging scenes – if some of you saw that season 13 I was in.”

When will Chicago Fire return?

Chicago Fire first premiered on October 10, 2012. Its 15th season will premiere on Wednesday, October 7. 

During the season 14 finale, Chief Pascal ordered an immediate evacuation but an explosion left the fates of Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney), Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg), and Lieutenant Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) up in the air.

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While Dermot will star in one episode before leaving the show for other pursuits, several fan favorites are returning to the firehouse. The series’ leads Taylor and Miranda are coming back as Kelly Severide and Stella Kid. David, Christian Stotle, Hanako Greensmith, and Jocelyn Hudon are set to come back too.

As one of the first of the Chicago franchise stars, Taylor understands how meaningful his work is.

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“It’s never lost on me how special it is to be a part of something with the longevity this has,” he told Us Weekly in a May 2022 interview. “It’s a testament to [series creator] Dick Wolf and the team of people he puts together.”

The other series within the One Chicago world are returning this fall as well. Season 12 of Chicago Med and Chicago P.D. both premiere on Wednesday, October 7.