Joe Minoso on the ‘Chicago Fire’ Crossover, Cast and Portraying a Fireman

I was able to sit down with the charming and humble Joe Minoso for breakfast this morning in Atlanta. The Chicago Fire star chatted with a small group of press about the much-anticipated crossover that fans can check out starting tonight on NBC at 10/9c. In full, the crossover will span across Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Law & Order: SVU.

So what exactly could Minoso say about the storyline? We had several followers on Twitter that wanted to know if any characters would die, but of course Minoso couldn’t go into much detail. However, he did want to express just how cool he thought it was that they were getting to explore the universe between the different series.

What Can Fans Expect?

“I think it’s more of the same. I think we’ve been really lucky in the sense that we get to live in kind of a universe as opposed to the world of one television show. It’s very few actors that can say that they’ve appeared on two to three television shows – let alone as the same character,” Minoso commented. “I think it’s a great blessing that we’re getting the opportunity to do something that most actors don’t get the chance to do.”

Even if Minoso wanted to tell us, he couldn’t. He isn’t entirely sure how the crossover will play out on the other two series.

“It’s funny, because we don’t get the P.D. script or the SVU script, so we don’t know. When you guys are about to find out what happens on those episodes, is when we find out – when we see them on air for the first time,” Minoso explained. “So I know on our end, we come across some stuff and then we hand it off to the PD folks, and that evolves into this kinda of giant case that spans two cities and two squads. But where exactly they take it… we’ll find out Wednesday.”

Future Crossovers

This isn’t the first time that the series’ have done a crossover event. They did it in their second season, and they also did another one earlier this season that was more Chicago P.D. and Law & Order: SVU focused. Can we look forward to more next season? It sounds like fans can expect to find themselves much more emerged in the universe.

“It was very successful, which is why I think the producers are trying to attack this crossover event even more – and why we’re going to see even more of it. Especially now with Chicago Medical – which seems to be kinda of in the works. That looks like that will be taking off as well,” Minoso revealed. “I think they’re more interested in exploring the universe of what it is to be a first responder.”

The Chicago Fire Family

The cast members of Chicago Fire are a tight-knit bunch, just like you would expect of real firefighters. The cast actually goes on vacation together, something that is super rare in the world of television.

“We’re such a wide variety of things. We have our fair share of action, our fair share of drama, but we’re also a really funny show. We’re good at lightening things up when they need to be lightened up. Most importantly, I hold those people, those 11 cast members, I hold them as close to my heart as I would any family member that I have. We really have become that tight of a unit. For me, that’s really where the show lives.” Minoso explained.

The cast members actually rented a house down in New Orleans for New Years and brought their family members to celebrate. It was a full house with 27 total people!

“It was a phenomenal time, and because of it, we’re actually trying to plan our next trip to Montreal together,” Minoso smiled. “I don’t know if it’s because we’re planning firefighters that we took on that idea of being a tight-knit unit, or if we just happened to be a group that acclimated to one another really well. It’s hard to tell which lead to which.

Portraying a Fireman

Minoso also chatted with us a little bit about why he loves playing a fireman – especially verses a cop. The best part? You’re always the good guy as firefighter.

“One of the reasons I consider myself to be lucky to be on Fire verses P.D., if you look at the news now-a-days, police departments are getting a lot of slack for a lot of different things. The lines get really blurred when you’re talking about protect and serve verses of taking advantage of your power,” Minoso commented. “Firefighters don’t have to deal with that. Firefighters are always good guys. They’re always the guy that goes in and tries to save someone’s life. They’re not someone who in someway their lines get blurred, because they have a gun or they’re trying to manipulate or be a strong guy on someone. Ultimately, when you see a firefighter, you find yourself happier than are upset. When you get pulled over by a cop, I don’t know anyone who would say, “Oh yes! A cop!” – whereas if a firefighter shows up, chances are you need them to show up.”

Chicago Fire Crossover Week Preview

We’ll have another post coming from our interview with Joe Minoso before Chicago Fire‘s season finale, so be sure to keep checking back!

Photo Credit: NBC