Chicago Fire Season 15 Adds Shadowhunters Star Matthew Daddario as New Firefighter

Firehouse 51 might want to start printing some new name tags because Chicago Fire is bringing in even more fresh blood for Season 15. Matthew Daddario is officially joining the NBC drama as a new firefighter candidate, marking a return to television for the Shadowhunters favorite and adding another new face to a season that is already shaping up to look considerably different.

Details surrounding Daddario's character are being kept suspiciously close to the vest. We don't have a name yet, and NBC hasn't revealed exactly how long he'll be sticking around. What we do know is that he's playing a candidate, meaning somebody at Firehouse 51 is about to have the pleasure of teaching another rookie how not to get themselves killed. Considering the turnover happening around that place lately, maybe everyone should just keep their lockers unlocked.

Firehouse 51 Is Getting Some Fresh Blood

Daddario isn't the only newcomer reporting for duty. BMF and All American alum Da'Vinchi has already joined Season 15 as series regular Marcus Burke, another firefighter candidate who has been described as funny, roguish and somewhat defiant. Da'Vinchi actually gave fans an early clue about Daddario's casting when he shared a behind the scenes photo alongside Daddario and Brandon Larracuente, who plays Sal Vasquez, with the trio sitting together on Truck 81.

Seeing multiple candidates arriving at the same time immediately raises questions about what Chicago Fire has planned for the makeup of Firehouse 51. Fifteen seasons into a show, introducing younger characters isn't exactly unusual, but these additions come during a particularly significant transition period for the veteran NBC drama. This doesn't feel like simply dropping a random new firefighter into the background and calling it a day.

For Daddario fans, the casting also brings a familiar face back into the television procedural world. He's still best known to many viewers as Alec Lightwood on Shadowhunters, where he developed a devoted fan following during the fantasy drama's three season run. He's also appeared on Why Women Kill and Blue Bloods, but putting him inside the One Chicago universe could introduce him to an entirely different audience.

Season 15 Is Bringing Some Major Goodbyes

Of course, new arrivals usually mean somebody else is clearing out a locker, and Chicago Fire has some painful departures ahead. Joe Miñoso is leaving the series after playing Joe Cruz since Season 1, although he is expected to appear in the opening episodes of Season 15 so the show can properly wrap up Cruz's story. After more than a decade at Firehouse 51, that goodbye is going to hurt, and we're already preparing ourselves accordingly.

Dermot Mulroney is also departing as Chief Dom Pascal early in the upcoming season. Add those exits to a new group of candidates and a behind the scenes leadership change, with executive producer Victor Teran taking over as showrunner following Andrea Newman's departure, and Season 15 suddenly feels like more than another routine year for the long running drama.

There is always some risk when a veteran series starts moving this many pieces around at once. Viewers have spent years becoming attached to the firefighters and paramedics who made Firehouse 51 feel like a family, and you can't simply swap familiar characters for shiny new ones and expect everybody to move on. The upside is that Chicago Fire now has an opportunity to introduce a new generation without abandoning the veterans who still form the heart of the series.

And bringing in an actor with Daddario's existing fanbase certainly isn't a bad way to get people curious about what comes next. Social media reactions to the casting are already filled with Shadowhunters fans realizing they may suddenly have 14 seasons of firefighter television to catch up on. Godspeed to anyone attempting that marathon before October.

Chicago Fire Season 15 premieres Wednesday, October 7 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, with episodes streaming the following day on Peacock.