CHICAGO FIRE Boss Teases the Fall Finale: ‘We’re Going to Have a Lot of People in Jeopardy’

As CHICAGO FIRE’s fall finale delivers one of the biggest catastrophes the squad has faced, the accident hits close to home for Cruz (Joe Minoso).

“He’s on the phone with [his girlfriend] Chloe when you hear an accident happening,” executive producer Derek Haas teases. “My kids who just watched the episode [said], ‘Why do you love to have everyone who watches the show mad at you?’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s part of the job.’…They have the same reaction I see on Twitter!”

To up the stakes, the show’s crew went above and beyond to stage the crash scene. “This is the biggest accident site we’ve ever done,” Haas admits. “We had Reza [Tabrizi] directing, our main producing director, who is incredibly talented. We choreographed one long shot that took half a day to set up. I think it’s pretty much the biggest thing we’ve ever done. And that’s one of only three big set pieces we have in this episode. We’re going to have a lot of people in jeopardy, including some of our firefighters.”

And the danger won’t be contained to the the accident: Casey (Jesse Spencer) and Naomi’s (Kate Villanova) investigation takes off, both personally and professionally.

“Casey gets caught up in the investigative journalism bent of it,” Haas says. “Naomi is very good at her job. Casey definitely has shown this side of his personality, where he enjoys solving things that don’t look right, especially when people have been hurt.”

“He’s coming off a half-season where he’s had some hurt feelings, and the dissolution of a marriage,” he continues. “It’s a human thing to say she reminds him of Gabby. And, ‘Do I still have it and am I still attractive?’ Those things are natural coming off a divorce. All of those elements combined into some pretty hot moments between he and Naomi.”

Things aren’t as smooth for Severide (Taylor Kinney), who has been struggling in the aftermath of his father’s death.

“Severide has never handled tragedy very well,” Haas says. “He tends to lash out and withdraw. In this episode, he has this rare-for-Severide moment of self-reflection, and he talks about how he can feel himself do it—wrecking things. And he can’t stop himself. And then when Tyler, Stella’s old friend from high school, turns back up at the firehouse, let’s just say things don’t go very well.”

CHICAGO FIRE, Fall Finale, Wednesday, December 5, 9/8c, NBC

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