Of all the stars who are exiting TV shows ahead of the upcoming fall season, the departure of Dermot Mulroney from “Chicago Fire” hit fans hard.
Mulroney has not addressed his exit from the show — until now.
‘Loved Every Minute
The actor spoke about leaving the show during a recent appearance at the Flashback Weekend fan convention in Chicago.
According to video taken at the event, as reported by People, Mulroney admitted it was an experience he’ll always cherish.
“I loved every minute of it, became friends with this incredible crew of people. Some of them had been there 15 years,” he said.
“I had 10 episodes last season, then season 14, so I still got to continue. They gave me incredibly challenging scenes — if some of you saw that season 13 I was in.”
A ‘Heavy Storyline’
Mulroney has led the first responders at Firehouse 51, having portrayed Chief Dom Pascal since thge beginning of the 13th season in 2024.
During that season, Dom endured the passing of his wife, a devastating loss that sent his character into a downward spiral.
That storyline, he admitted, began to weigh on him. “It starts to feel really heavy,” Mulroney said, adding, “They asked that of me and I delivered.”
Back for One Episode
During his conversation, Mulroney revealed that Dom will make one final appearance in the upcoming season premiere before saying goodbye for good.
“Now, this season, sadly, I have one episode,” he said. “I finish on Tuesday and they write the character off. So we gave it our all for two seasons. They wrote an incredible storyline that put me as an actor in high challenge. So I loved every minute of it. Thanks for asking. [I’m] sad to see it go.”
A Tribute to First Responders
Mulroney continued by discussing what being part of “Chicago Fire” had meant to “first responders everywhere,” not just those in Chicago.
“[I hear] how much these — all three shows — mean to those people, to their families,” Mulroney said.
“I can’t tell you how many people come up and they’d much rather have an autograph on ‘Scream VI,’ but they’re Chief Pascal for their dad,” he added.
“It’s an amazing thing to see and that’s how meaningful that is,” said Mulroney. “Which makes it that much more, I won’t say bittersweet. It’s bitter to have to leave that.”
Part of a Family
In a previous interview with People, Mulroney revealed that his role on “Chicago Fire” felt like “a Christmas gift all year round” for him.
“I literally joined a family there in Firehouse 51,” he said.
“It’s an incredible group of people, and we know deep into their past, these characters. So me even joining this cast, to see actors that have played that same part for 12 years, to see how they drop into their character, it was something I’d never witnessed,” Mulroney continued.
“It’s a very different feel there,” he added. “It’s so seamless and just a brilliant group of actors who’ve lived in the skin of their characters longer than I’ve ever encountered in my work.”
