The three shows of NBC's One Chicago block are just a couple of months away from returning in the 2024 TV schedule, with Chicago Fire reaching Season 13, Chicago P.D. reaching Season 12, and Chicago Med reaching Season 10. There were some questions about the episode counts for the series after the shortened previous seasons, but NBC has now confirmed how many episodes are on the way in 2024-2025. While it's good news for fans, I found one detail that really makes me wish that something had been different for Chicago Med's most recent season that ended in the spring.
All three One Chicago shows will run for 22 episodes in the 2024-2025 TV season, according to TVLine. That's standard for a network TV drama, and the only reason that the latest seasons didn't hit 22 was the WGA writers strike of 2023. The strike – which partially overlapped with the SAG-AFTRA actors strike last year – resulted in 13-episode seasons for Fire, P.D., and Med, which means that Med is going to miss a major milestone in Season 10, and that... is just a bummer.
As of the Season 9 finale with its big Ripley cliffhanger, Chicago Med has aired 176 episodes. Add in the upcoming 22 for Season 10, and the medical drama will be just shy of reaching the 200-episode milestone that Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. both hit in their tenth seasons. Barring any crises or severe ratings slumps, I feel pretty confident that One Chicago will continue into the 2025-2026 season and take Med to 200 episodes and beyond, but it would have been nice for the show to hit that milestone in Season 10 like the other two series.
And since Season 10 is getting close with a normal 22-episode order, I can't help but feel a little bitter that Season 9 couldn't have run for just a couple more episodes. I'm not saying that it's reasonable of me, since fans were lucky to get thirteen episodes at all after the long wait for the AMPTP to offer suitable terms to WGA and SAG-AFTRA, and a full tenth season is great news. Still, ending Season 10 on Episode 200 instead of Episode 198 could have been fun.
Neither Chicago Fire nor Chicago P.D. will hit any milestones in the coming season. Chicago Fire went full Die Hard with Severide for Episode 250 back in May, and Chicago P.D. will be a bit shy of 250 after the end of the upcoming Season 12.
None of this is to say that we should be pessimistic about what the fall has in store for One Chicago. Med will be missing Dominic Rains as Crockett Marcel when Season 10 kicks off, as his departure was announced back in June to resolve one of the ninth season finale's cliffhangers early. Three longtime cast members secured new deals shortly after, though, so we don't have to worry that Goodwin, Maggie, or Dr. Charles are going anywhere.
You can find Chicago Med's return to NBC's Wednesday nights with the Season 10 premiere on September 25 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. If you want a One Chicago fix sooner than late September, all three shows are available streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
