NBC might have made One Chicago fans wait until the eleventh hour, but it's good news all around for NBC’s hit franchise!
As first confirmed by Deadline, NBC has officially renewed Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD for the 2025-26 season! All three One Chicago shows will be coming back as part of NBC’s fall lineup, where they’re expected to continue to hold down the Wednesday night block where the franchise has thrived for the last several seasons. The renewals will see Chicago Fire returning for season 14, Chicago Med returning for season 11, and Chicago PD coming back for season 13.
The One Chicago shows were never viewed as being in danger of cancellation, remaining strong performers for NBC and also performing well on Peacock. However, fans of Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD can finally breathe a sigh of relief in knowing the shows have been renewed and will be coming back next season.
Interestingly, while the three One Chicago shows have been renewed and will return next season following their usual summer hiatus, it seems the renewals came with more than a few strings attached. Budget cuts once again hit the shows, which will lead to additional changes that fans are unlikely to be thrilled to learn.
The biggest item of note is that it seems the total episode order for Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD’s new seasons will be reduced. Although it’s not yet known how many episodes the new seasons will consist of, reports indicate the next seasons of the One Chicago shows will be shorter than this season. Reduced episode counts have become a growing trend within the TV landscape, with shows that once had 24-episode seasons seeing their episode count reduced little by little.
For the 2024-25 season, NBC ordered 22-episode seasons of Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD. Since the next seasons are expected to be shorter, we’re likely looking at episode counts in the 18-20 range.
It is expected that we’ll also continue to see the ongoing trend of series regulars no longer appearing in every episode of the season. This is a practice that had been previously initiated to help reduce costs by the studio, resulting in the Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD series regulars missing a few episodes each season. Series regulars are set to miss at least 2-4 episodes next season, but that number could rise for some series regulars as part of a new approach NBC is said to be taking.
According to Deadline, the casts of Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD are being asked to take up residence in Illinois. Those in the cast who opt not to become residents of the state where the shows are filmed are expected to miss additional episodes, though an exact episode count was not confirmed. This could mean some characters appear in even fewer episodes of Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD next season.
As for who will be coming back for the next seasons of the shows? Well, that also remains up in the air as NBC is said to be working to ink new contracts for several long-time members of the franchise whose contracts expire with the current seasons of the three One Chicago shows. It’s unclear which cast members are impacted, but there is a chance we could see some cast departures in addition to those previously announced.