Heading into Chicago Fire season 14, we knew it was going to be a difficult season for Herrmann. In the season 13 finale, Herrmann decided to take a demotion so that Mouch could become a lieutenant at 51, which set up a season of change for Herrmann.
We anticipated that Herrmann’s early arc in the season would be informed by this decision, and focus on the fallout of his decision. As season 14 began, this was indeed the case as we watched Herrmann struggle to adjust to no longer being a leader at 51 and also the repercussions of that choice which he hadn’t fully thought about, including the financial toll it would create in taking a salary cut.
This all made sense and we were prepared for this to be the heart of Herrmann’s storyline for the better part of season 14. Then came episode 4.
The fourth episode of the season saw Herrmann’s world turned upside down when his family lost everything in a house fire. Following the episode, it’s clear that while Herrmann still has some adjusting to do with his new position at 51, he’s also going to have a major personal journey ahead as he and his family begin rebuilding their life after losing everything to the fire.
It’s a development that opens the door for many storylines to be told and has set up what is going to be one of Herrmann’s most emotional storylines yet. Of course, fans are already up in arms about the decision, questioning why the writers felt the need to put Herrmann through even more turmoil and it seems the decision was made in an effort to tell a story the show hasn’t really told before despite its 14-season run by pulling inspiration from the real-life experience of one of the show’s longtime writers.
Chicago Fire is telling an important story through Herrmann’s house fire, one inspired by real events
Chicago Fire has always been committed to telling stories about real, everyday individuals, and the show has never strayed away from weaving in storylines that are inspired by hardships people face in the real world. And that is the case with Herrmann’s season 14 storyline.
Every year, thousands of people, across the US lose their homes in fires. These numbers are especially high in areas impacted by wildfires, as was the case this year with wildfires in Southern California, where more than 17,000 homes, businesses, and other buildings were damaged or destroyed in the fires. Among those who lost their home in the California wildfires was Chicago Fire writer, Victor Teran, who worked closely with fellow writer Alec Wells in crafting an accurate story to depict the storyline.
“Once the script was assigned to me, I felt a real responsibility to get it right and to take Victor’s experience and translate it into the show in the best, most accurate way possible. The story went through a couple of iterations as far as where Herrmann ended up emotionally,” Wells revealed in a recent episode of the One Chicago Podcast.
As Wells and Teran sat down to craft the story, there was an underlying question of what lesson the storyline was designed to teach Herrmann. However, as the conversation unfolded, it quickly became clear this was not about a lesson to spur character development, but rather exploring the tragedy that comes with losing one’s home in a fire.
“I spent a lot of time with Victor trying to figure out what lesson is Herrmann learning here. Is Herrmann learning to let go? Is Herrmann learning to move on? What is Mouch saying to him? Victor and I finally got to a place where we said Herrmann doesn’t need to learn a lesson, this isn’t about learning a lesson, this is about the tragedy of what he went through and sitting in that.”
For Teran, telling this story was one that hit close to home and reading the script proved the writers had succeeded in achieving their goal of capturing the heartbreak that comes from losing a home in a fire.
“It’s weird, but reading the Herrmanns coming home to their temporary apartment, like I had a visceral reaction to that. There are some things that just get indelibly printed in your mind and I could describe to you moment by moment walking into that apartment for us for the first time. It’s like a dream until then and then all of a sudden it’s real, you’re experiencing it in this very real way. It’s like you must have really logged the story so perfectly because the way Mouch excuses himself, when I read that I cried,” Teran reflected. “The two scenes with Mouch really got me. Those also made me incredibly emotional. The ‘it’s not just stuff’ scene felt like it was ripped right out of my brain.”
While episode 4 gave fans a glimpse into the immediate aftermath of Herrmann’s loss, this isn’t a storyline that is going to be resolved right away – and it’s one that should not. One does not simply rebuild their life overnight and we’re going to see 51 continue to rally behind Herrmann as his family picks up the pieces and attempt to move forward.
It’s a storyline we did not anticipate coming for the character, but we’re eager to see where the writers take this story from here and we commend them on exploring this storyline through Herrmann.