The long-awaited One Chicago crossover is nearly here in the 2025 TV schedule, and the storyline on January 29 is epic enough that one star expects fans to "go bananas" when they see it. Chicago Fire will air before Chicago Med for the event in a time slot switch, and showrunner Andrea Newman opened up about what "freaked out" the neighbors in Chicago about filming and why one character will be absent.
The "In the Trenches" three-parter will see the first responders of Fire, Med, and P.D. join forces when a gas explosion and subsequent fire threat a government building, with a subway tunnel collapse to just make things worse for Kidd and Ruzek underground, per the promo that Med's boss was surprised to see. Foul play may even be involved, warranting the talents of the Intelligence Unit of One Chicago's crime drama
I was fortunate enough to speak with all three showrunners ahead of "In the Trenches," and Fire's Andrea Newman described it as "next level." She said:
This one is next level. This is definitely the biggest one we've ever done. It's got so many things going on. It's got collapsing tunnels and collapsing buildings and fire geysers shooting three and four stories into the air. It's really got character dynamics coming around every corner with the couples and the relationships and the interesting combinations of characters from shows. It's got it all.
While the crossover has "it all," according to the Fire boss, there was the question of whether one character would be in the mix after how the previous week's episode ended: what about Cruz in light of his suspension? (You can find that episode streaming with a Peacock subscription now.) The showrunner confirmed my suspicion, saying that "yes," he will be out for the crossover. That certainly doesn't mean a shortage of characters, though, as she went on:
He's the only one who's out. All of the episodes have ramifications on the other episodes, but the crossover has a big impact, I think, on all the characters. And again, the relationships in this one. Severide and Kidd, and Ruzek and Burgess, and Mouch and Trudy. We dig into those three relationships particularly, and the challenges that this incident brings. That was a lot of fun character-wise, for us to do.
Have things been going too well for too long for the good ship Stellaride, that something had to go wrong sooner or later? After what Patrick John Flueger said about Burzek recently in response to the P.D. showrunner's comments, my fingers are crossed that they'll be okay. Given how Trudy looks in the promo, perhaps we should be most worried about her and Mouch!
Andrea Newman went on to share that although she wasn't on set while the three-parter was filming, she got regular updates about just how epic it was:
I wasn't on set. Victor [Teran], who wrote the episode, was on set, and we would gather around when he would send recordings of what was happening, because some of the filming of it was so incredible. He would record the fire guys who are shooting three stories into the air, and send us that. And we would all gather around and 'ooh' and 'ah' at it. It felt like we were there. It was freezing cold, that much I know. [laughs] It's Chicago! Flames were everywhere, so it was exciting.
At least one thing was no different for the crossover: filming was very cold in the Windy City! Chicago Fire seemingly went above and beyond with the flames, though, and I noted that the show's stunts always strike me as movie-quality. Newman went on to share that they were so cinematic this time that the neighbors were alarmed:
I agree! We have Rick LeFevour, who is a movie guy, doing our stunts, and his team is incredible. They'll do anything. I can't believe the things they go flying out of and into. [laughs] It's amazing. And Rick and his team are incredible, as are our production special effects people. It's done practically, as they say, which is, it's real. We don't add it in post. That fire was actually shooting that high up and freaking out the neighbors. [laughs]
I've historically been a big fan of Chicago Fire's practical action, ranging from Taylor Kinney's sky-high stunts to the regular infernos. Former co-showrunner Derek Haas had thoughts on Fire never being recognized at the Emmys for its stuntwork, and Andrea Newman said this when I shared my love for the practical effects:
I'm so glad to hear you say that, because that means a lot to us, and that's something that's always been important to the show, is to do it real. The stunts are real and the fire is real. That's not CGI.
Fortunately, the wait for "In the Trenches" and the fires that freaked out the neighbors in the Windy City is nearly over. The first three-part One Chicago crossover since 2019 kicks off on Wednesday, January 29 with Fire at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Med at 9 p.m. ET, and then finishing with P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. You can also check out earlier crossovers streaming on Peacock.
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