2025’s One Chicago crossover, “In the Trenches,” includes a lighthearted subplot that exposes something that has been missing from the franchise for several years. The best One Chicago crossovers offer opportunities for characters from each show to deepen their relationships with each other, demonstrating that the franchise is interconnected. “In the Trenches” builds several such relationships, such as the one between Voight (Jason Beghe) and new fire chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney). Additionally, it deals with intense emotions when three main characters face life-threatening situations, leaving their significant others powerless to help them.
While these intense scenes need humor to balance them out, the most lighthearted subplot occurs earlier in the episode while the firefighters and paramedics are still expecting a typical day. Before the gas explosion, Violet (Hanako Greensmith) has some humorous interactions with one of the newest characters in the Chicago Med season 10 cast. This subplot gets lost in the shuffle after the crisis begins. However, it fills a need for the One Chicago franchise and thus should be picked up again later.
Frost Joining Ambo 61 Is The 2025 One Chicago Crossover’s Most Lighthearted Plot
He Immediately Annoys Violet
Chicago Med’s John Frost (Darren Barnet) doesn’t always make the best first impression, and Violet isn’t inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. Before Frost joins her on Ambo 61, she says he “can’t be any worse than the last doctor we had ride along from Med.” Chicago Fire’s Violet doesn’t like doctors because they try to tell her things she already knows, and from her perspective, she thinks they are superior to her because she’s not one of them.
Frost doesn’t change Violet’s attitude, as he is fifteen minutes late to check in with her and she finds him fixing something on the ambulance when she hurries outside to take the next call. This lighthearted One Chicago subplot could have gone on for longer than it does, with Frost continually annoying Violet. However, the crisis caused by the gas explosion soon takes precedence over Violet’s irritation with Frost, which is unfortunate, as the 2025 One Chicago crossover needs some more lighthearted moments to break up the tension in the main plot.
One Chicago Needs More Mini-Crossovers Moving Forward
Having Characters Visit Other Shows Would Enhance Stories
The One Chicago franchise used to regularly have mini-crossovers that were similar to the Frost/Violet plot. Chicago PD officers such as Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) would visit Chicago Med’s Gaffney Medical Center if they needed a cop and there were regular interactions between firefighters, paramedics, and hospital staff. Unfortunately, that One Chicago trend did not continue, and each show became a standalone series that used unnamed characters to fill these important roles, making the shows feel less connected.
…it would be silly for Frost and Violet to cross paths during this ride-along but never interact again.
One Chicago has begun reversing this trend somewhat recently. Notably, Chicago PD’s Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) came to Gaffney Medical Center to help search for the stalker who was after Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson), while Platt (Amy Morton) had a cameo on Chicago Fire. The franchise will be more cohesive if it continues to have these mini-crossovers. Additionally, it would be silly for Frost and Violet to cross paths during this ride-along but never interact again.
Why One Chicago Stopped Doing Mini-Crossovers
COVID Made It Unsafe
One Chicago’s last full crossover was in 2019, a year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The franchise was unable to do either full or mini-crossovers when it first returned after the 2020 lockdowns because of safety concerns. There were limitations on how many people could be on set at once to minimize the risk of infection, making it too difficult to have One Chicago mini-crossovers because that would require extra people on set. These circumstances forced the franchise to abandon the idea of having characters visit one another’s shows.
By 2023, public health guidelines around COVID-19 had mostly been relaxed. However, the 2023 season was delayed due to the writers’ and actors’ strike. One Chicago returned in the spring of 2024 with a limited number of episodes, so there wasn’t time to plan either mini or full crossovers. Additionally, the labor strikes had severely impacted the network TV industry, so there wasn’t as much money in the budget for bringing guest stars in. However, One Chicago obtained a full-season order for the 2024-2025 season, so the franchise was able to plan cameo appearances as well as the 2025 crossover event.
