When Chicago Fire first began in 2012, it was a fast-rising hit for Wolf Entertainment. A year later, Chicago P.D. began airing, and in 2015 Chicago Med was brought on board, rounding out a trio of procedural shows set in Chicago. Though their fourth show, Chicago Justice, lasted just one season, the One Chicago franchise as a whole has been a consistent NBC hit since premiering. As a franchise, One Chicago is one of television’s best at crossovers from show to show, and viewers can likely expect more of their favorite characters appearing on each other’s shows in the coming seasons. On Wednesday, September 25th, One Chicago will return for Chicago Fire‘s 13th season, Chicago P.D.’s 12th season, and Chicago Med‘s 10th season.
Chicago Med, which will air at 8/7c, focuses on the doctors and nurses at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center’s Emergency Department, led by the Executive Director of Patient and Medical Services, Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson), the Head of Psychiatry, Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt), and the Head of the Emergency Department, Dean Archer (Steven Weber). They often receive patients from the firefighters and paramedics on Chicago Fire, which will air at 9/8c beginning September 25th. The team at Firehouse 51 was led for 12 seasons by Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker), though they’ll be getting a new chief in Season 13, with lead firefighters Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney), who heads up the rescue squad and Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer), who moved to Portland at the beginning of Season 10. Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), who also happens to be Severide’s wife, took over Casey’s role as the Lieutenant on Truck 81, and Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) oversees the firefighters on Engine 51. Chicago P.D., which will air at 10/9c, initially began after Matt Casey had a pretty terrible run-in with Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), but Firehouse 51’s relationship with the police officers of Chicago P.D. has improved in the last 11 seasons. Voight’s team in Intelligence also includes officers Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati), Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger), and Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins), and they work closely with desk sergeant Trudy Platt (Amy Morton), who is married to a firefighter from Firehouse 51, Randall “Mouch” McHolland (Christian Stolte). With lots of drama every season, fans are looking forward to what the new seasons will bring.
What to Expect From Season 10 of Chicago Med
In Chicago Med‘s ninth season, Gaffney Chicago Medical Center — most commonly referred to as “Med” — had two new doctors join the Emergency Department, though only one withstood the pressure. Luke Mitchell joined the cast as Dr. Mitch Ripley, an attending physician with a past connection to Daniel Charles, in Season 9, Episode 1, “Row Row Row Your Boat on a Rocky Sea,” and Sophia Ali’s Dr. Zola Ahmad arrived as a Third Year Resident transferring in from the Mayo Clinic in Season 9, Episode 2, “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us.” Zola’s time on the show was short-lived, as her distrust of insurance companies led to some “vigilante medicine” that even the doctors at Med, often known for breaking the rules, couldn’t condone. Her behavior and her departure had a significant impact on Dr. Crockett Marcel (Dominic Rains), who continued to have a tough season after Zola left and won’t be returning as a main character in Season 10.
Elsewhere, Sharon Goodwin dealt with her ex-husband’s Alzheimer’s progression and her new relationship with Dr. Dennis Washington (John Earl Jelks), which fans hope to see more of in Season 10. Daniel Charles continued to deal with his girlfriend’s brother, whose presence made things more difficult for other doctors as well, and Dean Archer ran into issues with patients from the same treatment center where his son works and with new medical students. In the tenth season, Med’s doctors will have to deal with the fallout of Dr. Marcel’s departure, and Maggie Lockwood (Marlyne Barrett) will potentially be looking at the progression of her friendship with Dr. Loren Johnson (Henderson Wade) to a relationship. With new doctors and old drama to resolve, there’s no doubt that Chicago Med will be a must-watch this coming season.
Mitch Ripley Has Some Explaining To Do
Newcomer Mitch Ripley had several big moments in Season 9, and they’ll all play a role in his continuing storyline in Season 10. After Ripley’s arrival in “Row, Row, Row Your Boat on a Rocky Sea,” audiences learn in “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us” that Daniel Charles was Ripley’s psychiatrist as a teenager and their relationship was strained due to Charles’s unexpected departure. Though it took some time, Ripley and Charles seemed to be mending their relationship throughout the season, though things are likely to be tense for them in the coming season. After Ripley treated Pawel (Kristof Konrad), the brother of Charles’s girlfriend Liliana (Alet Taylor), for a dislocated shoulder in Season 9, Episode 8, “A Penny for Your Thoughts, Dollar for Your Dreams,” Ripley was sued by Pawel for malpractice — a bogus claim — in Season 9, Episode 9, “Spin a Yarn, Get Stuck in Your Own Spring,” and the repercussions lasted through the end of the season.
Just as Ripley and Hannah Asher (Jessy Schram) are finally starting to give in to their season-long flirtation, things take a turn for the worse for Ripley. His childhood friend, Sully (Daniel Dorr), comes into Med first for cancer treatment and then because his girlfriend, Lynne (Hope Lauren), was experiencing cramping during pregnancy. The appearance of Ripley’s old friends gave Hannah a lot of questions, many of which she didn’t get answered. In Season 9, Episode 13, “I Think I Know You, but Do I Really,” Pawel shows up at the hospital after having been beaten by a masked man with a bat and accuses Ripley of being his attacker. Ripley, who leaves the ED instead of confirming or denying the accusation, will have to deal with what happened when Season 10 begins — whether it was him or not.
Chicago Med Welcomes Two New Doctors
Chicago Med can sometimes find itself being a bit of a round-robin of characters, so it’s no surprise that new doctors will be joining the team in Season 10. Sarah Ramos, who is best known for her role as Haddie Braverman in Parenthood and recently appeared as Jessica, a chef that Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) connects with, on The Bear, will be playing new ED doc Caitlin Lenox beginning in Season 10, Episode 1, “Sink or Swim.” According to a TV Insider interview with Chicago Med‘s new showrunner, Allen MacDonald, Lenox butts heads with other doctors when she arrives because she’s focused on being efficient and following protocol. That should be a good thing, but the docs at Med have never been known for sticking to protocol.
The other new doctor is John Frost, played by Darren Barnet, whose biggest previous role was as Paxton Hall-Yoshida on Netflix’s Never Have I Ever. Frost is a pediatrician who wants to make sure that even young kids understand what is going on with their bodies, and really enjoys engaging with them. He may also clash with members of Med’s current team. Only time will tell. Either way, both new characters are sure to make their mark on Chicago Med, and hopefully, they’ll both stick around.
What to Expect From Season 13 of Chicago Fire
When the 12th season of Chicago Fire wrapped up in May 2024, the firefighters and paramedics at Firehouse 51 were struggling. After a rough call where a young man was obviously being abused by his older brother and father, both Sam Carver (Jake Lockett) and Jack Damon (Michael Bradway) found themselves in some trouble with Stella Kidd for getting in a fight with the father and brother, and Carver chose to take another sabbatical, leaving behind a surprised Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith). Plus, Mouch had a tough time driving a new truck, and new paramedic Lyla Novak (Jocelyn Hudon) continued to try and find her place at Firehouse 51.
Season 13 will bring Carver and Violet back together, and fans are hopeful that their on-again-off-again fling might become more permanently on-again. Fans are also excited to see both Mouch and Herrmann take more of a leadership role now that Boden has taken on a new position, though the new chief could certainly change things. What will definitely change things is Severide’s announcement to Kidd that he’s interested in having kids, which is a big step for both of them but will have the most impact on Kidd’s career. The team at Firehouse 51 has a lot to deal with, both personally and professionally, in the coming season.
Who Benny Severide Left Behind
In Chicago Fire‘s Season 12, Episode 10, “The Wrong Guy,” Jack Damon joined Firehouse 51 as a floater for Truck 81. Stella Kidd was initially hesitant about him but opted to keep him on for a while to see if he could become the right fit for Firehouse 51. From the beginning, it was clear that Damon was interested in learning from Kelly, though it wasn’t clear why. What was clear was that Damon was harboring a secret, which Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri) partially discovered when he overhead Damon on the phone with someone at the end of “The Wrong Guy.” Though audiences thought they might know Damon’s secret, it wasn’t until the final moments of Season 12, Episode 13, “Never Say Goodbye,” that the truth was finally revealed. Damon, hoping to get Kelly to understand why he fought with the father and brother Truck 81 encountered earlier in the episode, told Severide about his abusive father and then revealed his name — Benny Severide.
Damon’s reveal was the final cliffhanger in Chicago Fire‘s 12th season and will have a profound impact on the team in the coming season. Benny died in Season 7, Episode 6, “All the Proof,” but his legacy seems to be ever-present for Kelly in both good and bad ways. Damon isn’t the first half-sibling of Kelly’s to appear on Chicago Fire — Severide met his younger half-sister, Katie Nolan (Brittany Curran), in Season 2, Episode 5, “A Power Move” — but Damon is the first to seek Kelly out. His reveal that Benny was an abusive father wasn’t necessarily a surprise, though Benny being present while Damon grew up certainly was. Fans look forward to learning more about Damon and his relationship with Benny, as well as seeing Damon and Kelly build their own relationship, whatever that looks like.
The Departure of Wallace Boden Brings a New Chief
Wallace Boden’s departure was unexpected for characters and fans alike but left room for potential future appearances from the character. After learning that the race for Deputy Commissioner was tightening and Paramedic Chief Danya Robinson (played by Laura Allen, who 9-1-1 fans might recognize as Bobby Nash’s late wife Marcy) was in the lead, Boden decided it was time to officially throw his hat in the ring. Chief Robinson, whose first appearance was in Season 12, Episode 5, “On the Hook,” seemed to have it out for Firehouse 51 all season, first threatening to make trouble during the exit of Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) and then putting one of her loyal lackeys in as Violet’s partner beginning in Season 12, Episode 7, “Red Flag.” Jared Lennox (Wesam Keesh) caused trouble for both Violet and Kelly Severide, but he was also the first one to warn Boden that Robinson, despite being taken off the list for Interim Deputy Commissioner, was pursuing the official position at any cost in Season 12, Episode 12, “Under Pressure.”
Boden thought he might be passed over for the Deputy Commissioner position and was surprised to learn that Stella Kidd had spoken so highly of him to Gloria Hill (J. Nicole Brooks), the last person to hold the Deputy Commissioner position, that Hill flew in from Oakland to vouch for him. His appointment as Deputy Commissioner will benefit the entirety of the Chicago Fire Department and open Firehouse 51 up to new leadership. In Season 13, audiences will meet Chief Dom Pascal, played by Dermot Mulroney. Not much is known yet about Pascal, except that he began his career in Chicago, spent the last decade in Miami, and is estranged from his wife, Monica (KaDee Strickland). Chicago Fire‘s biggest task in Season 13 will be figuring out how Pascal fits with the rest of Firehouse 51 — or how the team might have to change to satisfy Pascal’s leadership style.
What to Expect From Season 12 of Chicago P.D.
Season 11 of Chicago P.D. seemed to find itself stumbling along after the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike interfered with shows returning in the Fall of 2023. Too much time had passed since the Season 10 cliffhanger, which meant that continuing the story that led to the near-death of Adam Ruzek didn’t make much sense. The show had to figure out how to tell the story of Adam’s recovery much more quickly so that the entire team could move forward in the new timeline. This led to several stand-alone episodes for the characters, which thrive in longer seasons but left the shorter Season 11 feeling slightly disjointed until at least Episode 6.
Season 11, Episode 2, “Retread,” focused on Adam Ruzek and his recovery, as well as his ability to get himself into trouble, which was really no surprise to audiences. “Retread” also gave fans some time with Ruzek and Burgess — affectionately referred to as Burzek — which continued into Season 11, Episode 3, “Safe Harbor,” which was a Kim Burgess-centric episode. By the end of “Safe Harbor,” Burgess and Ruzek are engaged again, so it will be interesting to see how Chicago P.D. continues to handle their relationship in Season 12. Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) returned from furlough in Season 11, Episode 4, “Escape,” and immediately went undercover in a drug trafficking case that led to some serious consequences in Season 11, Episode 9, “Somos Uno,” when he became romantically involved with his informant. The strongest stand-alone episode of the season was Season 11, Episode 5, “Split Second,” which focused on Kevin Atwater and how he dealt with being unable to save a victim. The case he dealt with in “Split Second” also came back up in Season 11, Episode 11, “The Water Line.” Though disjointed, Season 11 did give fans some deeper dives into their favorite characters, something they are hopeful will continue in Season 12.
Hailey Upton’s New Job Leaves a Detective Spot Open
Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) had the heaviest storylines in Season 11, likely due to the announcement that Spiridakos would be leaving at the end of Season 11. From the premiere — Season 11, Episode 1, “Unpacking,” — to the final two episodes of the season, Upton spent Season 11 trying to keep her personal struggles from taking over her job. The departure of her husband, Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), in Season 10, Episode 3, “A Good Man,” continued to impact Upton, and audiences saw her confiding in Voight, strengthening their relationship. Upton also spent much of Season 11 trying to help SVU Detective Josephine Petrovic (Bojana Novakovic) keep her job and get sober, which took an additional toll on Upton just as much as it helped her figure out her own stuff.
Even before the harrowing events of Season 11, Episode 13, “More,” Upton already seemed to be thinking about whether staying in Intelligence — or in Chicago at all — was going to continue to be the right move for her. By the end of the episode, Upton is headed to the airport to leave Chicago behind, and though where she is headed isn’t totally clear, it’s obvious she’s headed for a new start. What is also obvious is that Upton’s departure leaves Intelligence with nary a detective, and showrunner Gwen Sigan recently revealed to TV Insider that an officer will be promoted in Season 12. Ruzek, Burgess, and Atwater have all been waiting for the tap that brings them up from officer to detective for years, but it will likely be Burgess or Atwater who finally gets the nod. Burgess has the least experience in Intelligence specifically, but both she and Atwater have been officers longer than Ruzek, who still has some growing to do. Burgess is the likely front-runner, given how her personal life has settled in the last several years and how comfortable she is with pushing back against Voight, but a promotion for Atwater wouldn’t be an unexpected decision — and would finally give Atwater some of the screen time he deserves.
Hank Voight Will Be Different in Season 12
After spending most of Chicago P.D.‘s Season 11 trying to find a serial killer only to then be kidnapped and nearly murdered by said serial killer, Hank Voight will be going through some serious soul-searching in Season 12. Not only has he lost Hailey Upton, his closest friend since the death of Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas) in Season 5, Episode 22, “Homecoming,” to her new job, but Voight has to reconcile with the fact that he nearly died in that basement — and was absolutely willing to go.
Before Upton arrived to save him, a moment that made Voight furious because he wanted to keep her safe, Voight hallucinated seeing Olinsky, who told him that he didn’t get to die yet because Hailey wasn’t ready for him to leave, not in that way. Jason Beghe and Tracy Spiridakos gave incredibly powerful performances throughout the finale, but particularly in the final moments of Voight’s capture and in their final interaction once they were free, where Voight gave Upton the okay to leave. Upton was the last of his close friends and family remaining, and her absence is sure to have an impact on him in Season 12. Voight let himself be open and vulnerable with Hailey, and now that she’s gone, the biggest question will be whether he lets other people in or returns to the hardened version of himself that existed for so long. Whether fans like Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, or Chicago Med best, it’s obvious the trio of shows has big seasons ahead.
