Things are looking up for the fall TV season.
While most scripted dramas were delayed due to the writers and actors strike, a recent agreement made between the writers and the AMPTP has led to production starting back up on a number of different shows. Some, like NCIS and 9-1-1, were confirmed, but others, like Chicago Fire, were conspicuously left off the list.
This is a bit perplexing, given that Chicago Fire is one of the procedural shows that were said to be given top priority when the writers strike ceased. The show employs the same amount of visual effects and stunt work as a show like 9-1-1, and yet, it will not be starting production during the first month of October.
When is Chicago Fire season 12 coming back?
To make things even more confusing, NBC, the network that runs out One Chicago, has confirmed plans to resume production on Law & Order, which is another multi-part procedural franchise run by Dick Wolf. There’s no real reason why Chicago Fire wouldn’t be on the initial wave of shows to be brought back, but that seems to be what has happened.
While the show has yet to kick things off, it’s safe to assume that Fire will follow a similar episode rollout to that of its procedural peers. According to Deadline, the fall TV season is a month past its usual production schedule, which means that there will be less episodes than normal.
While this is something that fans were already told to be wary of (some earlier estimates claimed that we could be looking at seasons with as few as 6-8) episodes, it’s now believed that the fall TV shows will be airing between 12-13 episodes, which constitutes about half of a regular season.
Of course, the actors are still on strike, and nothing can be filmed without their involvement, so there will still be some time before Chicago Fire and the rest of the fall lineup can resume filming in full. As it stands, we hope that the firefighting drama (along with the other One Chicago shows) gets the green light to start working on scripts again.
