Chicago Fire is about to undergo some major changes this fall with two high-profile cast exits. Season 15 will bring the departure of original cast member Joe Minoso, as well as the official exit of recent addition Dermot Mulroney. Both decisions have surprised and disappointed fans, but of the two Mulroney’s exit made more sense given the nature of his storyline.
Mulroney was written out of the show late in season 14 as he took a step back from the show to film scenes for The Hunting Wives, which he also stars in. As part of this storyline, Chief Pascal was let go from the CFD for conduct unbecoming and left town to accept a job from an old friend. He ended up returning in the season 14 finale, and the hope was that perhaps the writers would find a way to bring him back into the fold full-time in the season 15 premiere, as there had been no reports that Mulroney was exiting the cast at the time.
Fast forward to today and the decision has been made to write Pascal out of the show. Some fans were quick to speculate that Mulroney was the driving force behind this decision. However, if there was any question about whether Mulroney had chosen to exit Chicago Fire due to his other acting commitments, he’s more than cleared that up.
During an appearance at Flashback Weekend in Chicago just days after he finished filming his final Chicago Fire scenes, Mulroney made it clear that it was not his decision to leave the show, revealing that it was a creative decision to write the character off.
“They write the character off. So, we gave it our all for two seasons. They wrote an incredible storyline. I loved every minute. Sad to see it go.”
“How meaningful that is,” Mulroney continued, reflecting on the show’s impact on first responders and their families, adding that their love for the show “makes it that much more, I don’t say bittersweet, bitter to have to leave that.”
It’s clear by Mulroney’s comments that he did not want to leave Chicago Fire and that this decision was driven entirely by the creative team, which is unfortunate. Sadly, though, that is often the case with cast shakeups in the One Chicago franchise, as most of the franchise’s biggest exits have been connected to creative decisions and not a direct result of an actor wanting to exit the show—though there have certainly been a few instances where that has been the case through the years.
While it’s clear that Mulroney is bitter about his exit, he has nothing but love for the cast and crew, who have become friends during his two seasons on the show. And he had high praise for two of his frequent scene partners.
“Loved every minute of it; became friends with this incredible crew of people. Some have been there 15 years. Taylor Kinney, the great star of the show, Miranda Rae [Mayo], leading off that an incredible cast.”
It’s going to be hard to see Pascal go this time knowing his exit will be permanent and we won’t be seeing Mulroney back in action after. Given that Mulroney is only slated to appear in one episode, it seems safe to assume his sendoff will occur in the season premiere. We’ll see how the show sends him off when season 15 premieres on October 7 at 9/8c on NBC.
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