The 2025 One Chicago crossover, “In the Trenches,” was a three-hour epic uniting Chicago Fire, P.D., and Med, delivering non-stop action and emotional heft. Aired January 29, 2025, it was the franchise’s first major crossover since 2019, sparked by a subway collapse downtown.
Chicago Fire’s Firehouse 51, led by Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), raced to rescue trapped civilians, including P.D.’s Adam Ruzek, pinned with Kidd in a crumbling train car. Meanwhile, Chicago P.D.’s Trudy Platt was shot by an elusive suspect, Lauren Bates, landing her in Chicago Med’s OR, where Dr. Caitlin Lenox (Sarah Ramos) clashed with Voight over ethics.
The event’s genius lay in its character pairings. Voight’s tension with Lenox highlighted his desperation, while Fire’s Mouch (Christian Stolte) stood vigil for wife Trudy, breaking fans’ hearts. Ruzek and Kidd’s banter under rubble offered levity, but stakes soared when Bates’ ties to a terrorist plot emerged, forcing P.D. to pivot from rescue to manhunt. Marina Squerciati’s Burgess anchored emotional beats, coordinating with Med’s Ripley to save Makayla’s school, threatened by the crisis.
Fans praised the crossover’s scale—filmed across Chicago’s L tracks—but some, via X, felt Trudy’s sidelining echoed P.D.’s underuse of Amy Morton. Showrunners called it a “movie-like” feat, with writers Victor Teran, Stephen Hootstein, and Joe Halpin crafting seamless arcs. No major deaths occurred, defying fears for Kidd or Ruzek, but the event reshaped dynamics: Voight’s vendetta against Bates intensified, and Atwater’s heroism earned a promotion buzz. For viewers, seeing casts unite—from Beghe’s grit to Mayo’s fire—reignited One Chicago love, proving why these shows dominate NBC’s Wednesdays in 2025.
