A prominent NBC actor is stepping away from one of the network’s hit TV series. Chicago Fire fans will have to say goodbye to Dermot Mulroney. Fortunately, it’s not a permanent goodbye.
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Deadline confirmed that Mulroney is taking a leave of absence from the NBC show. The actor will appear until episode 14 with that episode being his last for the season. Mulroney will then be absent for the rest of the season, but the outlet reported that he may return for the finale.
Mulroney plays Battalion Chief Dom Pascal on the NBC show. But Chicago Fire will have a temporary new boss. Rob Morgan is set to play Battalion Chief Hopkins on the show.
Actor Leaves NBC Show
Hopkins will join the department in Episode 16 and will be a part of the show until at least the upcoming finale. Deadline notes Hopkins “has a long, haunted past in overseeing several Chicago firehouses and is quick to assert authority over his colleagues.”
So there’s bound to be a fresh set of tensions. For viewers, Mulroney’s hiatus may feel like a case of hardly knew ya. The actor first joined the NBC show in 2024, taking over from Eamonn Walker’s Chief Wallace Boden.
The actor seemed very excited about the show, so I imagine it’s probably more of a scheduling issue than anything.
Mulroney told NBC at the time, “Well, this entire experience on Chicago Fire is brand new for me. I’m also joining a cast that’s already here. So I’m really the new guy in a brand new experience. I’ve never played a part that will last this long. I’ve never worked on a job for this many months as our filming schedule rolls over into 2025. It’s rare for me to work on a character where I don’t already know the storyline… So, I’m having the most amazing time in a new process. [I’ve been acting] a long time—it’s so nice to have a new way to look at creating a role, originating a role.”
We will see if and when Mulroney returns to the popular drama.