Chicago Fire is about to introduce a new CFD chief who could be trouble for Severide

It seems the Chicago Fire writers are really aiming to let Severide see how heavy the head is that wears the crown. 

Season 15 kicked off with an intense hour in which Severide spent most of the episode working an off-the-books investigation into the warehouse fire in order to clear Cruz’s name. Throughout the episode, Severide was challenged over the actions he was taking with his former chief, Dom Pascal, making it clear to him that he can’t continue to color outside the lines, as doing so will not only impact him now but also his entire team at 51. After all, he is the captain now, and his actions reflect on those working under him at the firehouse. 

Thankfully, everything worked out in the end, and Severide was able to clear Cruz’s name via his investigation, but the premiere made it clear that Severide’s transition from lieutenant to captain is going to be a challenging one. 

After feeling the heat throughout the premiere, it seems the show is about to crank things up with episode 2 introducing a new CFD chief who could spell trouble for Severide. 

“Severide feels heat coming down from HQ,” teases the synopsis for Chicago Fire season 15, episode 2, hinting that Severide is about to be challenged in some way from the top brass within the CFD. It’s unclear what kind of heat he’ll be catching from the brass, but it’s never a good thing when NBC’s episode synopsis teases a character feeling the heat.

Interestingly, the episode is set to introduce a new chief with Joel Steingold (The Chi, The Crossover) making his debut as Chief Lowen. Little is known about this new addition to the cast and whether he’ll be a one-off guest star or might appear in a multi-episode arc, but NBC has dropped the first photo of Steingold, and it’s clear that he is going to factor into the Severide story for the episode. 

In the photo above, we see Severide and Chief Lowen at Firehouse 51 standing side by side, and it appears that Chief Lowen is performing some sort of evaluation given the stern look on his face and the way his arms are crossed. Could it be that Chief Lowen has dropped in to perform an evaluation of Severide and/or of Firehouse 51, which is something that chiefs will often do when there is not a sitting chief working out of the firehouse? 

Given that Severide has been captain of 51 for a few months now, it would make sense for the firehouse to undergo an evaluation or for Severide to directly go have to endure an evaluation now that he’s a few months into his new job. Hopefully, this new chief won’t be quite as much of an adversary as Chief Hopkins was when he entered the picture last season, but we’re sure that Severide will be able to take the heat and impress the brass at HQ. After all, this is Severide we’re talking about!

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.