It’s no secret to fans of Chicago Fire that the cast is very much like family, on and off the screen. The show, starring Taylor Kinney, Miranda Rae Mayo, Jesse Spencer, Kara Killmer, and David Eigenberg, among others, has been on the air since 2012, and returns to NBC for its 14th season on Wednesday, October 1. When it returns to our TV screens, fans will get to meet new cast member Brandon Larracuente’s character Sal Vásquez, but before the big debut, he’s giving insight into how he was welcomed into the One Chicago family.
Speaking with NBC Insider, Brandon revealed that one of his best memories so far since becoming a Chicago Fire star has been the cast dinner that David, who stars as Chris Herrmann, included him in. “Everyone’s been great,” he first said.
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“It’s been nice, so before we shot anything, David and his wife set up a big cast dinner,” he shared, adding how “what was really nice was it wasn’t just the current cast, there were some cast members from previous seasons and stuff. So it was nice to see how well these people got along.”
“I invited my wife, they all met with her, and it just feels like a family,” he further gushed, noting: “And I was able to bond with them before stepping on set at all.” Brandon, who has been married to Jazmin Garcia since 2020, has previously appeared on 13 Reasons Why and The Good Doctor, and was most recently on another Dick Wolf show, On Call, which starred Pretty Little Liars alum Troian Bellissario and Full House star Lori Loughlin, but was cancelled by Prime Video in May after just one season comprised of eight episodes.
“It’s a good time on set. I mean, it definitely feels like a family, and it’s always tough when you’re joining a show that has built a core,” he continued, adding: “The core is now going on for 13 years, but they keep it light on set. But at the same time, they respect the work. And when it comes time to work, they show up prepared and whatnot. So I couldn’t ask for anything else. But it’s just a good time, I mean every single day.”
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“I think keeping it a bit light on set transmits to the work. When you like the people you’re working with, it makes your job easier,” Brandon noted, before emphasizing: “They’ve all done their part equally in helping me adjust to the new experience of the show.”
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Brandon’s casting came following the departure of Chicago Fire regulars Daniel Kyri and Jake Lockett. Still, it was confirmed in June that all leads of the three One Chicago series, which include Taylor as well as Miranda and Dermot Mulroney for Fire, plus Chicago P.D.’s Jason Beghe and Chicago Med’s S. Epatha Merkerson and Oliver Platt, will be returning to their roles. The three Fire actors have all signed new deals to continue with the series, while Med’s Oliver and S. Epatha — who was on fellow NBC mainstay Law & Order for a whopping 17 seasons between 1993 to 2010 — had already signed multi-year deals last year.
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The three shows will come back in the fall for 21 episodes, however, cast members will be absent from a couple episodes throughout the respective seasons, a new cost-cutting measure from NBC. All three of the shows air Wednesdays on NBC, and per NBCUniversal, the current seasons of the three have reached nearly 46 million total viewers season to-date across NBC and Peacock, with all three’s streaming viewership rising year-over-year.
