“You Wouldn’t Know Which Episode You’re In”: ‘Chicago Fire’ Showrunner Teases the One Chicago Crossover

The One Chicago crossover happens in three shows, but according to Chicago Fire‘s showrunner Andrea Newman, it might be hard to tell which is which. “[This crossover] really is different. It doesn’t feel like three episodes,” she told TVLine. “It’s immersive. You wouldn’t know which episode you’re in, hour to hour, because it’s all the characters together, all pursuing the same goals of rescuing the people in danger and getting out of there alive…,” Newman added. It is a rare experience in individual shows, much more so currently when the narrative cycles through the characters. Newman likened it to a three-hour movie, saying,

“This one really is cinematic in a way that we haven’t done. It’s like a movie, partly because of that immersive nature of it where all the characters [are] together throughout.”

One Chicago Abandons Typical Series Format.

The interconnectedness of the shows is apparent in the first part of the event titled, “In the Trenches,” beginning on Chicago Fire. As the narrative expands, characters from all the shows appear everywhere, making it hard to distinguish which show one is watching. Gwen Sigan showruns Chicago P.D., and she teased one scene in Part III—the final part airing on the show—where not a single Chicago P.D. character is seen.

“This one feels the most interwoven of any one that we’ve done in the past… You’ll see scenes in the third hour where there aren’t any P.D. characters in the scene, and it’s all Fire characters in the scene, or it’s all Med,” Sigan said. The show is also heavy on cross-show pairings, giving characters who might have never met a chance to work together.

Chicago Med‘s showrunner Allen McDonald admitted he’s been a Mouch (Christian Stolte) fan and requested to use the character. For Mouch, this will be extra hard because Trudy (Amy Morton) falls victim to something during the emergency, and she must be rushed to Med to save her life. McDonald teased some interactions between Mouch and Ripley (Luke Mitchell), saying,

“I, personally, like in the crossover watching the dynamic between Ripley and Mouch. They have some pretty intense moments together, especially in the Med hour. I love all the characters in One Chicago, but…I really like Mouch, and I like him so much that I asked Andrea Newman if I could use him in Episode 15 of Chicago Med, and she said yes. So there’s a little bit of an element of tension between Ripley and Mouch that will continue on in that episode.”

Meanwhile, two lions are in the jungle as Dom (Dermot Mulroney) and Voight (Jason Beghe) share responsibilities. Newman called it “one of the real treats” watching the two men work together. “[Both are] strong, tough leaders who have to make big decisions in this [crossover], and to see them together in a room, it almost feels like the walls should start melting or something,” she added.

Meanwhile, some professional tensions are in order as doctors and paramedics share space during the emergency. Dr. Frost (Darren Barnet) joins the paramedics for an on-the-field triage. A fragile state of affairs exists between doctors and paramedics since they are intentionally kept separate. This is not the case in this episode. “I love seeing Dr. Frost with our medics because there’s always a little tension between the doctors doing their docsplaining, as Violet (Hanako Greensmith) calls it, and the power struggle between them. He’s new, and Novak (Jocelyn Huddon) is new since we last did a crossover. To see those guys together was really fun,” teased Newman. They may deliver something different since they’re both new and haven’t been corrupted by the hierarchy disease.

Tune in to NBC tonight, Wednesday, January 29, to watch the One Chicago crossover. Catch up with past episodes of all three shows on Peacock.