Wednesdays won’t quite be the same in the next few weeks. Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD are all set to be pulled from NBC’s schedule following their February 4 broadcasts, with no new episodes planned for the remainder of February.
That’s right, you read that correctly, unfortunately. Despite having just returned on January 7 following a seven-week break, all three One Chicago shows are heading on yet another multi-week break, which will keep the shows off the air for what will be a three-week break. So what gives?
Well, NBC is the exclusive broadcast home for the Olympics and the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics officially kick off on February 6. NBC’s coverage will begin this very day with coverage of the Opening Ceremony and will continue through the very end with the Closing Ceremony on February 22. As part of its plans, NBC will bring viewers primetime coverage of the Winter Olympics every night.
In order to bring fans coverage of the Winter Olympics, NBC has to send all of its primetime series on break. This impacts not only the One Chicago shows, but all of NBC’s primetime originals, including Brilliant Minds, St. Denis Medical, The Hunting Party, Happy’s Place, Stumble, Law & Order, and Law & Order: SVU.
Now, you might be wondering why NBC is keeping the One Chicago shows off the air for the final week of February if the Olympics wrap on February 22. That is a fair and understandable question, and sadly it’s one we don’t have the answer to just yet. NBC has not released its schedule for the final week of the month which makes it unclear what they’ll be airing on February 25. There is a chance we’ll get One Chicago reruns that night, but we could also see special programming airing in its place.
It’s definitely frustrating to fans of the shows, but it’s not a first-time occurrence, as NBC has been the home of the Olympics for years now. While the Summer Olympics don’t create much conflict for NBC as the network doesn’t have as robust a summer lineup, the Winter Olympics always create headaches as they fall during the broadcast season.
For One Chicago fans, the nice thing is that at the end of this upcoming break will be the One Chicago crossover event! All three One Chicago shows will come together on March 4 for the three-hour crossover event which will begin when Firehouse 51 responds to a call involving a passenger jet that goes missing mid-air. This triggers a high-stakes emergency that spirals into a bigger and deadlier mystery with consequences that threaten to impact countless lives.
