If you are someone who loves to know the magic behind the movie, then this is absolutely the podcast for you. The first two episodes gave a great example of what’s to come. The two-episode premier started with Jason Beghe giving the low down on PD and Voight’s character. The second featured David Eigenberg giving us all the gossip on Fire. Personally these two episodes were some of the best, they weren’t just another rewatch podcast. We got to know the people behind the characters.
If you are a true Chihard and want all the BTS from each season then you will already know Brian Luce. He definitely is the best person to host this podcast. Not only does he have a fountain of knowledge from his nearly three decades as a police officer, but he also has over a decade worth of interactions with all three One Chicago shows. Even Jason Beghe believes Brian is the best one for the job. The knowledge that he spews off the top of his head in these two episodes was genuinely incredible, his larger than life and happy personality shines through so clearly.
Jason Beghe knows Voight like the back of his hand, the first episode allowed us to see exactly what Jason thinks of Voight and playing a character as controversial as he is. We follow how Voight’s character was created and why he is the way he is, right from his beginning in Chicago Fire and into the first season of Chicago PD. Some of my favourite quotes from this episode come from Jason Beghe’s own dialogue “show up interested, not interesting”. It’s genuinely one of the best laid out advice with multiple layers I’ve heard.
I think it was a really smart decision to post two episodes on the same day, it keeps the listeners engaged and wanting more the moment they finish the second episode. David Eigenberg being the second guest made for a very funny episode. I spent the majority of the episode laughing about the stories being told. One thing this podcast definitely does is make you feel as though you are in a room listening to your two friends swap stories and laugh continuously.
It was incredibly interesting to see how David came about auditioning for Chicago fire. “That was a ball of fire that shouldn’t have been” was an incredibly funny start to this 40-minute podcast. Arguably the best part of episode 2 was the rapid fire questions for David. The flustered nature of the answers and the laughter in between was so contagious. There’s nothing more this podcast could have given to Chicago Fire fans, it gave such a unique insight into Herrmann. You can see how much of David’s real-life bleeds into Herrmann.
The podcasts not only give an insight into the people behind the characters but they also give us details on the people who work to make the magic for us to see. It’s not too often that you see the people behind the cameras and sets get the recognition they deserve and it’s beautiful to see these podcasts shine a light on those sections of the movie making.
I truly cannot wait to see what the rest of the podcasts bring, but I know it will contain lots of contagious laughter and amazing stories.
