Chicago Fire is set to reach a major milestone in season 15, but it will do so after the end of a era. In addition to the exit of a cast member who has been part of Firehouse 51’s crew since the very beginning, Joe Mińoso’s Joe Cruz, the NBC series is also losing one of its key creative talents after the end of season 14.
Viewers will officially get their first taste of Chicago Fire without Newman when NBC’s complete fall 2026 schedule brings the One Chicago dramas back to primetime in October, but one thing is already certain. The culture behind its scenes is changed with another key talent departure after 295 episodes, and the show is entering a whole new era in more than one way without them.
Chicago Fire Is Replacing Andrea Newman As Showrunner
The long-running drama will hit its milestone 300th episode this fall without former showrunner Andrea Newman being involved in any way for the first time since 2012. This isn’t the first time Chicago Fire is changing showrunners over the course of 15 seasons, so such a huge change happening over summer hiatus isn’t unprecedented. That said, the major difference between when Andrea Newman stepped up and the rise of Victor Teran as showrunner concerns their longevity in One Chicago. Newman already had a decade behind her when she became sole showrunner; Teran only joined Chicago Fire as a writer in season 10, and was only promoted to a producer in season 13.
Andrea Newman had one of the longest tenures in One Chicago before the news broke that she was stepping down ahead of season 15. She was already credited as a co-executive producer when Chicago Fire premiered in 2012, and the first episode that she ever wrote was the fourth episode of the very first season.
By season 6, she was promoted to executive producer, and became co-showrunner with creator Derek Haas in season 11. She then served as sole showrunner from the start of season 12 to the end of season 14. Her last episode as a writer was also her last episode as showrunner, since she wrote the season 14 finale.
While opinions have been mixed about the plot twists during her time as showrunner, Deadline reports that Newman chose to leave Chicago Fire. In a statement to the outlet, Newman said that “Working at Chicago Fire, with the absolute best cast and crew in the business, has been the highlight of my career.” Peter Jankowski, the president and chief operating officer of Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment, commented that Newman was “at the center of the heart and soul of Chicago Fire since the beginning and the show thrived under her watch.”
Although Victor Teran’s tenure before being promoted to showrunner has been considerably shorter than Newman’s was when she got the top job, he has been on board for some key moments, including the first full season after the SAG-AFTRA strikes shook up Chicago Fire. Notably, he also wrote the Chicago Fire leg of the last two crossover events, which were also two of the most cinematic crossovers in the history of One Chicago.
What Newman’s Exit Means For Chicago Fire Season 15
News of the shake-up was received with mixed reactions back in the spring, before the season 14 finale. On social media platforms like Reddit and X, the consensus was that Andrea Newman being replaced was a good sign for Chicago Fire reinventing itself, and that it could be a positive change for how the relationship between Kelly Severide and Stella Kidd has been written.
On Reddit, one user wrote that “Hopefully this is a step in a positive direction” because “storylines have been so stagnant.” An X user celebrated the switch, commenting that she was “giving Victor a lot of work to do to fix her mess.” It remains to be seen how noticeable the behind-the-scenes changes will be for viewers watching from home. The change from Derek Haas to Newman for season 11 didn’t result in any shockingly new directions, but Newman had also already been a co-showrunner for a full season. Teran is starting fresh in the role.
Season 15 was bound to feel different, with or without Newman. Joe Mińoso is exiting the drama as Joe Cruz after a few episodes of the new season, which means that Fire is losing one of its last remaining original cast members. Dermot Mulroney is also exiting as Chief Dom Pascal, although that departure is less shocking after how Pascal’s story was handled in season 14.
While that twist could have led to a new era with Severide stepping up as the undisputed leader of Firehouse 51, the drama is bringing in a brand-new character to replace Pascal in season 15, despite Pascal pushing for Severide to get the job. This won’t be the first time that Chicago Fire ignores the previous chief’s wishes and goes in a different direction for a new season. The same happened when Boden wanted Herrmann to step up. Whether Newman would have handled the Firehouse 51 vacancy differently is unknown.
It does seem likely that the switchover will be smooth, since Teran worked alongside Newman for the last several seasons of the first-responder procedural. Find out how seamless the switch is when Chicago Fire returns for season 15 on Wednesday, October 7 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, between Chicago Med and Chicago P.D.
Enjoy ScreenRant’s primetime coverage? Click below to sign up for my weekly Network TV newsletter (make sure to check “Network TV” in your preferences) and get the inside scoop from actors and showrunners on your favorite series.
- Release Date
-
October 10, 2012
- Showrunner
-
Andrea Newman
-
Taylor Kinney
Kelly Severide
-
David Eigenberg
Christopher Herrmann
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
