Christopher Herrmann went through a huge journey in season 12.

The end of Chicago Fire season 12 brought changes at 51. Chief Boden is moving on up the career ladder, and that means there’s a new opening for Chief at 51. Boden wants Herrmann to take on that role, but is that what we’ll see in season 13?

Herrmann had a huge storyline at the start of the season. After a blast affected his hearing, he realized that he couldn’t hear the radio. This would put the lives of his firefighters on the line, so he did the right thing and got himself check out, leading to him needing hearing aids.

This was actually a storyline written in for David Eigenberg, who wears hearing aids in real life. He had to take them out for filming, but it was making hearing his castmates difficult. So, the storyline was written in to allow Eigenberg to wear his hearing aids.

Herrmann will need to take exams in Chicago Fire season 13

So far, it looks like Herrmann’s hearing isn’t getting worse. This means that he should be around for a little longer, and Boden would like him to sit in the Chief’s chair. However, Boden did point out that this would mean work.

Herrmann is only a lieutenant. He will need to sit the exam to become Captain, and then he will need to rise up the ranks to Chief. It’s not going to be a quick process, so I wouldn’t expect to see him as Chief at 51 in Chicago Fire season 13.

He could potentially be Acting Chief at first, in a way that Severide was for a while at the end of season 12. However, it looks like Chicago Fire is going in a different direction.

A new Chief is coming in to 51 in Chicago Fire season 13

The series is looking to cast a new Chief, potentially called Dom Pascal, according to Deadline. This is the man coming in to run things now that Boden has his promotion, which means Herrmann isn’t going to do the job that Boden would like.

Yes, this is an entirely new character. It’s also set to be a series regular role, which means that this doesn’t look to be a temporary move while Herrmann works up the ranks. Of course, series regular could mean just for this season, giving Herrmann the time to work his way up the ranks.

Did we really think that we’d see Herrmann as Chief at 51 in Chicago Fire season 13? We have to be realistic, and that would only happen with a time jump. That doesn’t mean he won’t start the process, and Dom could take Herrmann under his wing. That is if they don’t butt heads too much, as Dom will have a very different leadership style to Boden, and that’s not going to be easy for 51 to deal with.