WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from season 8 premiere ofChicago Fire.Did someone leave the hose running at Firehouse 51 or are those our tear ducts?After a season 7 cliffhanger that left literally every major character onChicago Firein peril, the mattress factory fire was finally extinguished in the season 8 premiere — but not without claiming one of 51’s original players.Brian Zvonecek, better known as Otis, was badly burned in the fire and died shortly after he arrived at the hospital. And thus, original cast member Yuriy Sardarov departed the series.Somehow through our tears, we managed to get executive producer Derek Haas on the phone to talk about Otis’ death, how Sardarov handled the bad news, and what this will mean for his best friend and roommate Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) and the rest of the firehouse going forward.Elizabeth Morris/NBCPEOPLE: When you set up last season’s finale, did you already know who was going to make it out or where was it kind of a cliffhanger for you guys as well as contracts were negotiated and such?DEREK HAAS: It wasn’t about contract negotiations but we didn’t know what we were going to do. We just wanted to do one of these finales where we put all the longtime characters into jeopardy. We went out with the rattling old boiler as it’s about the blow — and that was as far as we had thought. I finished the finale and decided, “We’re just going to put this down and not think about it for a couple months until we get back together. And then we’ll come up with something good to bring it back.” But of course I couldn’t wait after [the finale] aired. [The team] all got on the phone and I was like, “We can’t pull the rug out from under everyone again. There has to be some teeth in the show. So let’s really consider who we could kill off.” That’s how it started.Did you ever consider killing off more than one character?We talked about Ritter but then we ultimately felt like he had just joined the show. It wouldn’t have the same effect. We like everyone so it was tough, but we really liked him as a new character, a new fresh voice on the show. And so then we just started going down the list and when we got to Otis, we thought, “OK, this will have a lot of impact because he’s an original cast member. He lives with Cruz and Brett, he’s on Casey’s truck. He’s a co-owner of Molly’s with Hermann.How did Sardarov take the news?I’ve known Yuriy since he was a junior in college in Michigan. We did a movie together beforeChicago Fireand it’s been awesome watching him develop into the actor that he is. I called him [to tell him], and as you can imagine, he was extremely gracious and just an awesome guy. So it was tough making that call, but I knew it was right for the show. I tried to make it not meaningless. Again, I’m not worried about Yuriy because I just know he’s going to go do amazing things and I get to say, “Oh, yeah, well he started onChicago Fire. I like watching all of our actors blossom on other things after they leave our show. I’m like a proud Papa; I get to watch these things happen.”Adrian Burrows/NBCHow long did you wait to tell the rest of cast?I let Yuriy do it because he wanted to tell the rest of the cast. And then, over the course of the summer, I ended up texting or talking to most of them anyway. Part of my ask of Yuriy was to come back and do the first episode. Like, “By the way, we’re going to write you off. We’re going to do a heroic ending for your character. You’re literally going to save the rest of the firehouse. But in doing so, giving, you know, sacrificing your own life and, but I also need you to come back and do that for the first episode.” Within 30 seconds, Yuriy was like, “I’m doing it.” So yeah, he’s awesome.What was it like shooting his touching final scenes?I was there for all the stuff inside the fire and stuff when the paramedic opens up Otis’ shirt and Cruz sees for the first time that this is different, Otis isn’t going to survive this. That look on Cruz’s face. Then he lets out that haunting howl in the back of the ambulance — I had tears streaming down my face watching it. I wasn’t there for the hospital scene, but I know everyone gave him standing ovations for that scene.Adrian Burrows/NBCAll of that must have been rough for Joe Minoso [who plays Cruz].Well, Joe is incredible. I was there also for the last shot of the episode, which is the memorial reveal and Boden telling Cruz what Otis’s last words — in Russian — meant. … I’m watching the first take, which is this wide master shot, a sweeping crane shot where you can’t even see Cruz’s face. It’s swooping over the whole cast and Joe is bawling. So I go up to him and I’m like, “Joe, you can save it for the close-up?” “So I’m walking back to the video village, we call it and our director of photography, Lisa Wiegand. And now Cruz has gone from three roommates to one.Speaking of, now Cruz’s living arrangements are a bit out of whack now that his two roommates are gone.Yeah, that’s addressed in the opening shot of the next episode and it’s actually going to be something that’s ongoing through this season. In small part, this season is about the different ways and the different speeds with which people deal with such a tragic event in their lives. And so the way Cruz reacts is different than the way Casey reacts is different than the way Boden reacts.What about Casey? Is he going to get a new home finally?I liked Severide’s dismissal of Casey saying maybe now that he and Kidd are together, but yeah, no, they’re going to live together for a while.How long before Brett comes back to Chicago?I don’t want to give that away, but I love Hope and I love Eloise Mumford. I’m a fan of bringing back characters because it rewards our longtime viewers and doesn’t slow down people who are just picking up the show for the first time.Chicago Fireairs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on NBC.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from season 8 premiere ofChicago Fire.
Did someone leave the hose running at Firehouse 51 or are those our tear ducts?
After a season 7 cliffhanger that left literally every major character onChicago Firein peril, the mattress factory fire was finally extinguished in the season 8 premiere — but not without claiming one of 51’s original players.
Brian Zvonecek, better known as Otis, was badly burned in the fire and died shortly after he arrived at the hospital. And thus, original cast member Yuriy Sardarov departed the series.
Somehow through our tears, we managed to get executive producer Derek Haas on the phone to talk about Otis’ death, how Sardarov handled the bad news, and what this will mean for his best friend and roommate Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) and the rest of the firehouse going forward.
Elizabeth Morris/NBC
PEOPLE: When you set up last season’s finale, did you already know who was going to make it out or where was it kind of a cliffhanger for you guys as well as contracts were negotiated and such?DEREK HAAS: It wasn’t about contract negotiations but we didn’t know what we were going to do. We just wanted to do one of these finales where we put all the longtime characters into jeopardy. We went out with the rattling old boiler as it’s about the blow — and that was as far as we had thought. I finished the finale and decided, “We’re just going to put this down and not think about it for a couple months until we get back together. And then we’ll come up with something good to bring it back.” But of course I couldn’t wait after [the finale] aired. [The team] all got on the phone and I was like, “We can’t pull the rug out from under everyone again. There has to be some teeth in the show. So let’s really consider who we could kill off.” That’s how it started.
Did you ever consider killing off more than one character?We talked about Ritter but then we ultimately felt like he had just joined the show. It wouldn’t have the same effect. We like everyone so it was tough, but we really liked him as a new character, a new fresh voice on the show. And so then we just started going down the list and when we got to Otis, we thought, “OK, this will have a lot of impact because he’s an original cast member. He lives with Cruz and Brett, he’s on Casey’s truck. He’s a co-owner of Molly’s with Hermann.
How did Sardarov take the news?I’ve known Yuriy since he was a junior in college in Michigan. We did a movie together beforeChicago Fireand it’s been awesome watching him develop into the actor that he is. I called him [to tell him], and as you can imagine, he was extremely gracious and just an awesome guy. So it was tough making that call, but I knew it was right for the show. I tried to make it not meaningless. Again, I’m not worried about Yuriy because I just know he’s going to go do amazing things and I get to say, “Oh, yeah, well he started onChicago Fire. I like watching all of our actors blossom on other things after they leave our show. I’m like a proud Papa; I get to watch these things happen.”
Adrian Burrows/NBC
How long did you wait to tell the rest of cast?I let Yuriy do it because he wanted to tell the rest of the cast. And then, over the course of the summer, I ended up texting or talking to most of them anyway. Part of my ask of Yuriy was to come back and do the first episode. Like, “By the way, we’re going to write you off. We’re going to do a heroic ending for your character. You’re literally going to save the rest of the firehouse. But in doing so, giving, you know, sacrificing your own life and, but I also need you to come back and do that for the first episode.” Within 30 seconds, Yuriy was like, “I’m doing it.” So yeah, he’s awesome.
What was it like shooting his touching final scenes?I was there for all the stuff inside the fire and stuff when the paramedic opens up Otis’ shirt and Cruz sees for the first time that this is different, Otis isn’t going to survive this. That look on Cruz’s face. Then he lets out that haunting howl in the back of the ambulance — I had tears streaming down my face watching it. I wasn’t there for the hospital scene, but I know everyone gave him standing ovations for that scene.
All of that must have been rough for Joe Minoso [who plays Cruz].Well, Joe is incredible. I was there also for the last shot of the episode, which is the memorial reveal and Boden telling Cruz what Otis’s last words — in Russian — meant. … I’m watching the first take, which is this wide master shot, a sweeping crane shot where you can’t even see Cruz’s face. It’s swooping over the whole cast and Joe is bawling. So I go up to him and I’m like, “Joe, you can save it for the close-up?” “So I’m walking back to the video village, we call it and our director of photography, Lisa Wiegand. And now Cruz has gone from three roommates to one.
Speaking of, now Cruz’s living arrangements are a bit out of whack now that his two roommates are gone.Yeah, that’s addressed in the opening shot of the next episode and it’s actually going to be something that’s ongoing through this season. In small part, this season is about the different ways and the different speeds with which people deal with such a tragic event in their lives. And so the way Cruz reacts is different than the way Casey reacts is different than the way Boden reacts.
What about Casey? Is he going to get a new home finally?I liked Severide’s dismissal of Casey saying maybe now that he and Kidd are together, but yeah, no, they’re going to live together for a while.
How long before Brett comes back to Chicago?I don’t want to give that away, but I love Hope and I love Eloise Mumford. I’m a fan of bringing back characters because it rewards our longtime viewers and doesn’t slow down people who are just picking up the show for the first time.
Chicago Fireairs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on NBC.
source: people.com
