Chicago Fire is losing another main cast member after Dermot Mulroney decided to make his hiatus a permanent departure from the show.
Mulroney, 62, will wrap up his story line early in the show’s upcoming 15th season, according to multiple outlets. The actor joined the NBC drama in season 13 as Chief Dom Pascal and remained on the show for two seasons before news broke of his departure on Friday, July 31.
Pascal was previously absent in the second half of season 14 when Deadline reported in January that a story line was created to write him off for the time being.
Mulroney was still expected to appear in the One Chicago crossover before Rob Morgan took over his position at Firehouse 51. He also did have the chance to return at the end of the season.
Morgan, meanwhile, was stepping in as Battalion Chief Hopkins. Pascal’s exit was explained away when his position was revoked because he previously disobeyed a federal agent’s order to stand down while collecting evidence at a house fire.
Pascal was arrested, but despite the federal charges against him being dropped, his position was still in jeopardy. He ultimately confirmed to Firehouse 51 that he had been told to vacate the position, effective immediately.
Amid the big professional change, Pascal considered retiring from firefighting but then shared that a former colleague in Phoenix offered to connect him with a firehouse in Arizona.
“He’s been on the ropes,” showrunner Andrea Newman told NBC Insider in March. “[The arrest] puts him in a situation, it’s kind of a journey for him from the beginning, where he really wasn’t connected to 51 as closely as the chiefs obviously we’ve seen in the past, like Boden.”
Newman continued: “So he makes the ultimate sacrifice for his team, for all the teams really in this episode, and it sends him in a totally different and new direction at the end here. And he’s gonna have to figure out if he’s going to fight and claw to get back to 51, or if he’s now going to be on a new path altogether.”
Mulroney’s exit comes as Newman will be replaced with Victor Teran as the new showrunner.
Earlier this week, multiple outlets confirmed that Joe Miñoso was leaving the hit NBC series. Miñoso, 47, had played firefighter Joe Cruz since Chicago Fire premiered in 2012. According to reports, the actor is expected to appear in several episodes during season 15.
Chicago Fire returns to NBC on October 7.
