The 2023 fall TV season has arrived, but this year the landscape looks very different from previous years as many popular shows are missing from the lineups, including Chicago Fire season 12. Let's take a look at why new episodes of Chicago Fire aren't airing and when we might see the show return.
Chicago Fire is one of three shows in Dick Wolf's One Chicago universe. Chicago Med and Chicago P.D. round out the trio. The three One Chicago shows have anchored NBC's Wednesday night lineup for years. Chicago Fire follows the crew of Firehouse 51 and stars Eamonn Walker, Kara Killmer, David Eigenberg, Miranda Rae Mayo, Joe Minoso, Christian Stolte, Daniel Kyri, Alberto Rosende and Hanako Greensmith.
While no plot details about season 12 have been released, we do know that fans are anxious to learn the fate of Stolte's Mouch McHolland after last season's big cliffhanger and whether or not he manages to survive being shot.
Fans are eager to see the Chicago Fire team back on their TV screens, so let's look at why Chicago Fire season 12 won't be airing new episodes this fall.
Why isn't Chicago Fire airing new episodes?
There aren't any new episodes of Chicago Fire because of the ongoing strikes. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) was unable to reach terms with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) in May 2023, leading to a strike. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) followed suit in July 2023. Both groups have aligned on the picket lines, hoping to reach better deals on residual payments and concerns about AI, among other things.
The strikes started when most network television shows are normally filming; in this case, though, it's hard to say whether any work on scripts for season 12 was done before the writers went on strike.
That said, even if the strikes were resolved soon, it would still take time to complete scripts and start filming.
What is airing in place of Chicago Fire season 12?
Without new episodes of many of its scripted TV shows, NBC has opted to create a fall TV lineup that features a mix of new scripted series like Found and The Irrational, which had been projected to air at the midseason, along with reality programming and game shows. The network will also air classic episodes of its primetime stalwarts like the One Chicago trio and Law & Order.
This fall, a repeat from one of the three One Chicago shows will air in the 8 pm ET/PT time slot, followed by new episodes of Quantum Leap season 2 at 9 pm ET/PT and the second half of Magnum P.I. season 5 at 10 pm ET/PT, both of which were filmed before the strikes.
When is Chicago Fire coming back?
As of this writing, there is no word on any movement between the WGA, SAG and the AMPTP when it comes to negotiations, which means that there won't be new episodes of Chicago Fire this fall and it's highly unlikely that new episodes will be available in the spring. It's quite possible that we won't have new episodes of Chicago Fire until fall 2024.
We'll be sure to keep you updated as new information becomes available.
How to watch Chicago Fire
Since new episodes of Chicago Fire won't be available for a while, now is a great time to catch up on all the action. Episodes from previous seasons are available on Peacock, NBC's streaming platform.
You can also watch Chicago Fire through Peacock on streaming services like Fubo, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV.
In the UK, fans can watch past episodes of Chicago Fire on Sky Witness.
