‘Chicago Fire’: Hanako Greensmith Reveals 5 Things to Expect in Season 11

Hanako Greensmith as Violet Mikami in Chicago Fire
Preview
George Burns Jr/NBC

Ambulance 61 is back as it should be — with paramedics Brett (Kara Killmer) and Violet (Hanako Greensmith) both on board — but there are some changes for Firehouse 51 on Chicago Fire.

Season 11 kicked off with Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) dealing with the aftermath of one of his cases, which followed them into their wedding night in the cabin. Plus, Brett broke up with Casey (Jesse Spencer) over the phone — and that’s just the beginning.

During a recent press day for One Chicago’s new seasons, Greensmith offered a few teases for what’s ahead.

Switching up a Love Triangle

In the premiere, Violet’s ex Gallo (Alberto Rosende) told her what Hawkins (Jimmy Nicholas) did to ensure she’d keep her spot on 61, and the two reconciled — and were able to go public with their relationship since he transferred. While Gallo clearly still has feelings for the paramedic, he “will not just have his sights on Violet anymore in quite the same way, so you’ll get to see some new storylines for him in that department,” Greensmith teased.

Reality of the Job

As executive producer Derek Haas told TV Insider, Season 11 will see the firefighters and paramedics face not being able to save everyone. “That is a huge weight that comes with being a paramedic or even working in the medical field, having to accept that this is a lovely, warm, family-based television show but in reality, you cannot save everybody that you’re trying to save,” Greensmith said.

“I think we try to highlight the reality of that as much as we can, and you’re going to see Violet have to come to terms with that in a really, really big way. Within the first few episodes, you’ll see her have to deal with a challenge that you haven’t seen her deal with before,” she previewed. “I think that’s going to be exciting and sad all in one.”

Hanako Greensmith as Violet, Kara Killmer as Sylvie Brett in Chicago Fire

Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC

Ambulance 61 Paramedics Together

Season 11 began with both Violet and Brett in uncertain places in their relationships, and while the former is now in a happy place with Hawkins, Brett did end things with Casey. And now, she’ll be focusing on her career and 51 relationships.

“You’re going see Brett come into her own in a really beautiful way because she’s been so heavily partnered up with men. I think it’s been a huge part of her identity for her time on the show,” Greensmith noted. “I think that’s going to be a new, empowering aspect of things that both inspires Violet and also brings the two of them closer together.”

More of the Younger Trio

Expect to see more of Violet, Gallo, and Ritter (Daniel Kyri) as the fun trio viewers have grown to love at 51. “You’ll definitely get to see them come back together,” Greensmith confirmed. “I feel like we lost a little bit of their trio because there was just so much drama in the way and there was just not enough opportunity for it. At the end of the day, they are such solid friends.”

The New Firefighter’s a Mystery

Carver (Jake Lockett) joined Truck 81 in the Season 11 premiere, and while he was Boden’s (Eamonn Walker) pick, he was far from Kidd’s first choice. Just because Carver followed Kidd’s orders during a call doesn’t mean things will be easier moving forward, and he’ll remain a bit of a “mystery wrapped in a riddle” for a bit, according to Greensmith.

“All of us are trying to figure him out and suss him out because on our show, you figure out who someone is relatively quickly, and then we learn to embrace them, but that’s not going to be the case,” she explained. “It’s going to be more a long-term burn of trying to figure out who he is and what his intentions are and it’s definitely going to be a really fun challenge for Kidd to see how she has to handle this now that she’s a lieutenant but also has to be professional but has also history with this character, too.”

Chicago Fire, Wednesdays, 9/8c, NBC