‘Chicago Fire’ Season 12: Scoop on Mouch, Gallo’s Exit, Brett’s Replacement & More

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Will 51 be down two firefighters after the Chicago Fire Season 12 premiere? It’s very possible.

The NBC drama returns on January 17, and with that first episode, it has quite a bit to reveal, including whether Mouch (Christian Stolte) lived or died after an on-the-job shrapnel injury that saw him bleeding significantly at the hospital in the Season 11 finale and how Gallo will be written out in Alberto Rosende‘s last episode. Plus, another member of 51 is going to end up in a risky situation!

When TV Insider spoke to executive producer Andrea Newman about Brett’s (Kara Killmer) departure and future with Casey (Jesse Spencer) as well as Severide’s (Taylor Kinney) return and relationship with Kidd (Miranda Ray Mayo), we also got the scoop on that and more.

What can you say about Mouch and, whether he lives or dies, what kind of stories did that cliffhanger set you up to tell in the premiere and beyond?

Andrea Newman: I will say that the theme of this season is change and 51 having to cope with change, both people leaving and people coming. They’re handling a lot together. How they handle it is really sort of the theme of the season, the evolution of the house when there’s so much change.

Can you say when in the premiere we’ll find out about Mouch?

We’re doing a six-month time jump — all the Chicago shows are — from when the finale happened, so it’s pretty quick that you’ll find out, get some answers.

Firehouse 51 is going to be saying goodbye to Gallo. What can you preview about the how of that?

When a character as major as Gallo leaves, you want to do justice to the character and make sure that it’s the sendoff that the character deserves. I think Gallo makes a decision that everyone will understand that’s known him since he joined us. And it’s a tough call for him, but we’ll hear why, and as hard as it will be to say goodbye, especially for Ritter [Daniel Kyri] and Violet [Hanako Greensmith], they understand and we get it. It’s part of who he is.

Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC

The premiere photos tease Herrmann (David Eigenberg) getting injured. How worried should we be?

Herrmann has a great hero moment. He basically saves 51, puts himself at great risk, and there’s a permanent situation that comes out of that personally for Hermann. So yeah, it’s a great risk to him, and things will change for him going forward because of it.

Rome Flynn is coming in as a new firefighter who’s going to join Kidd in saving one of the 51 family members. Who’s in danger, and how does this new character shake things up?

Yeah, it’s funny because Jake Gibson was the name he originally had and when that didn’t clear, we gave homage to our amazing creator Derek [Haas], and now his name is Derek Gibson, but if Derek hears that, he’ll kill me. [Laughs] But anyway, we’ll meet Derek Gibson in [Episode] 2. He’s played by Rome Flynn, incredibly magnetic actor and character, and he’ll have a big hero moment in [Episode 2] and that will make Kidd say, “That’s my guy. He’s coming onto truck with me.” And then we’ll get to peel back a bunch of layers on him. The big question is always, when somebody starts at 51, are they 51 material? Are they troublemakers? Are they going to fit in? Or both? So it’s fun peeling back the layers on the Gibson character, and Rome is great. We’re having a lot of fun with him right now.

Violet is losing both Gallo and Brett this season.

Yeah, I know, poor Violet!

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Who is she going to be leaning on in the aftermath? Ritter? Or you did tease possibly something with Carver (Jake Lockett) last season…

Yeah, there’s fun to be had. There’s a very playful dynamic between Violet and Carver, and she’s certainly at the beginning of this season leaning on Brett. But the great thing is this is really kind of Violet’s season to shine. She takes these hits as it were and kind of grows with them and becomes stronger. So we get to see Violet really step into the spotlight this season in a way she hasn’t before and rise up, which is fun.

What’s Boden (Eamonn Walker) dealing with? Because he has these people leaving, he has to deal with the firehouse…

He is the rock for everybody, and he’s going to be dealing with some stuff of his own at the same time, some family issues. So he is going through a lot, but he is the one who really holds it all together in his Boden way, and he’s got a nice little bit with where he says, “We’re all in this together. Nothing stays the same forever, but we all have each other to lean on, and that’s how we get through it.” So he’s their calm in the storm.

Are there any other significant new characters besides Derek?

When Brett leaves, we have a position open on ambo, and there’s going to be some turnover there. So yeah, there’s somebody coming in as a new medic.

And is there anything else you can say about that?

What I can say is that Violet becomes the PIC (Paramedic in Charge), so she gets to be the boss, and she’ll have to form the next person who comes in. It’ll be a journey finding that person. It’s not easy to replace Sylvie Brett.

Are there any characters returning besides Casey?

Our door is always open. If we’ve had a character in the family, they’re still in the family, and we love bringing people back. So there’s always a chance of doing that and of seeing people from the other shows, too.

Chicago Fire, Season 12 Premiere, Wednesday, January 17, 9/8c, NBC