‘Chicago Fire’ Stars & EPs on the Stellaride Wedding, a Boden-Centric Episode, and More

Taylor Kinney as Kelly Severide, Miranda Rae Mayo as Stella Kidd in Chicago Fire - Season 10
Preview
Adrian S. Burrows Sr./NBC

After a short break, Chicago Fire returns with new episodes on April 6, and there is plenty coming up to get fans excited.

It seems like Lieutenant Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Lieutenant Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) may finally be on track for a wedding sooner rather than later after they reconciled following her absence and he gave her that ring. Plus, there’s an episode that’s entirely focused on Deputy District Chief Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker) which sounds like you won’t want to miss, as well as more ahead for paramedic Violet Mikami’s (Hanako Greensmith) romance.

TV Insider got the scoop on what’s ahead from series stars Walker and Greensmith as well as co-showrunners Derek Haas and Andrea Newman during a recent junket with members of the press.

Finale Wedding Bells?

Will we be getting that Stellaride wedding in Season 10? All signs seem to point to yes.  “The wedding is indeed — we’re headed towards a finale that is going to be very memorable,” Haas promised. “The Kidd-Severide build-up has been a long time coming and the event, we’re Chicago Fire, so if you think it’s going to be one thing, it might not exactly happen the way all the characters have it in mind to happen.”

Newman added that while the lieutenants “love each other so much… both have this dark history with marriage and relationships. Kidd had the previous marriage that was abusive and horrible, and Severide has this role model of his dad and his mom’s marriage, which was terrible and also somewhat abusive. They both carry a big burden into this, and the question is, when push comes to shove, can they take that leap? There’s all sorts of complications we’re throwing their way. But they’re amazing together, and we love them. We love that journey they’re on.”

Kara Kilmer as Sylvie Brett, Miranda Rae Mayo as Stella Kidd, Hanako Greensmith as Violet in Chicago Fire

Adrian Burrows Sr/NBC

So what roles might Violet and Boden have for the wedding? Greensmith pointed out it might depend on the kind of wedding Kidd wants to have. Whatever happens, “I’d love to see Violet get to help her through any of that in any way because it’s always nice seeing the women of 51 come together,” she said.

Walker pitched his idea for the event: “Because I’ve taken on board Kidd as my kind of surrogate daughter, I would really appreciate giving her away.”

The Spotlight on Boden

In the April 13 episode, “What’s Inside You,” one of 51’s own is taken hostage. That’s a Boden-centric episode, much like Season 9 had Lieutenant Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) and Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) trapped in the elevator. “We started to think about what could we do this year, and it just went right to our minds: ‘Let’s do Eamonn in jeopardy alone, not with his firefighting crew and having to navigate a really, really intense, personal drama unfolding in front of him and how he can influence that,” the EP previewed.

Eamonn Walker as Wallace Boden in Chicago Fire

Adrian S. Burrows Sr./NBC

“I got to see Eamonn a few years back in theater, in a play called Between Riverside and Crazy. He was insanely great, and so then when you write these long scenes — these guys are used to doing a one-page scene — and here’s these 10-page scenes where you’re having to rip off the dialogue, but we knew Eamonn was the perfect vessel for that,” Haas continued.

For Walker, even though they had moved on to filming the next episode, “my brain’s still there,” he admitted. “I had an amazing time with the journey of it. It was a fantastically written episode, and the brand-new cast, new little team that was put together for it, everybody gave 150 percent of their energy and time regardless of the size of role. … I truly, truly enjoyed it and felt that the horse was allowed to gallop.”

How Plans Changed for One Fire Romance

Violet’s love life has gotten complicated in Season 10, with her ex, firefighter Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende) also at 51, and a new relationship with the paramedic chief, Hawkins (Jimmy Nicholas).

“We loved Violet and Gallo together and Hawkins was going to be a smaller part of that arc, and then we saw these two actors and the chemistry between them and the way they popped together onscreen, we really did some rejiggering and extended that relationship,” Newman revealed. “It’s just getting stronger and stronger as it goes because these guys are so great together… There’s all sorts of problems in their way, which is fun to navigate. We’re really excited about the way Gallo plays into it as well, the whole mess of it.”

Greensmith, on her part, is surprised by the audience’s reaction to the relationship. “It means it’s working and it’s believable and people are invested. I have so much fun working with Jimmy,” she said, before adding, “I also love Alberto, and I also love Gallo.”

Chicago Fire, Wednesdays, 9/8c, NBC