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Sept. - Oct. 2025 Month2800 - 00,4,2023
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The One Chicago universe returns as “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.” make their Season 11, Season 14 and Season 13 premieres, respectively, Wednesday, Oct. 1, on NBC. S. Epatha Merkerson stars in “Chicago Med”
Cover Story Autumn in Chicago: ‘Med,’ ‘Fire’ and ‘P.D.’ return to cable this fall By Dana Simpson With approximately 2.6 million Americans calling Chicago home, it makes sense that many a television series would decide to place their focus on the home of the Bears, the Cubs and the White Sox. Some of the most popular television to capture the essence of the Windy City, though, must be Dick Wolf’s (“Law & Order”) iconic One Chicago franchise. Now several years into each of Wolf’s established series, One Chicago returns to NBC as a whole Wednesday, Oct. 1, as “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.” make their Season 11, Season 14 and Season 13 premieres, respectively. The franchise, “which spans 36 seasons and 728 episodes ahead of the fall 2025 premieres” (per ScreenRant), first marks its return with the Season 11 premiere of “Chicago Med,” the last series to join the One Chicago franchise (of those still airing). Having first premiered in 2015, the medical drama currently boasts 201 episodes across its 10 seasons and will be adding an additional 21 episodes to its total
count this season, albeit without a few fan-favorite characters. With regard to Season 11, series showrunner Allen MacDonald (“Body of Proof”) says he plans “to take everything a step further but still be on the same path,” as reported by Parade. “I told the writers that in every episode [of Season 10], I want everyone to cry in every episode, and I want everybody to laugh in every episode. I want to continue that emotional torture for the audience as much as I possibly can, but take the characters in different directions.” A few characters will be missing from the plot, however, as Marlyne Barrett (“The Wire”), who played Maggie Lockwood; John Earl Jelks (“New Amsterdam”), who played Dr. Dennis Washington; and Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut (“Star Trek: Picard”), who played Dr. Naomi Howard, are confirmed to be written out of the show. While Lockwood reportedly left the series due to “personal reasons,” very little has been reported as to the reason behind the fictional doctors’ departures.
In addition to the staffing changes at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, much of the character development in Season 11 will fall upon the shoulders of actress Sarah Ramos (“The Bear”), whose character must now parse with the knowledge that she carries the gene for GSS Prion, the degenerative disease that killed her mother. Another One Chicago series featuring a major life change is “Chicago Fire,” the franchise’s flagship series starring longest-running cast members Taylor Kinney (“The Forest,” 2016) and Christian Stolte (“Law Abiding Citizen,” 2009), airing immediately following “Chicago Med.” Kinney’s character, Lt. Kelly Severide, is often a main focus of “Chicago Fire,” but last season’s attention was largely due to his evolving relationship with Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo, “Blood & Oil”), who (spoilers for the Season 13 finale) announced her pregnancy at the end of last season. Although the couple, known to superfans as “Stellaride,” had been planning to
adopt, their plans changed when Stella became pregnant. Otherwise, Station 51 continues to change headed into Season 14 as its mysterious new chief, Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney, “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” 1997), settles into his role as beloved Boden’s (Eamonn Walker, “Oz”) replacement. Finally, “Chicago P.D.” returns to NBC with perhaps more peril than the rest of Chicago’s first responders. (Season 13 spoilers ahead.) After Sgt. Voight (Jason Beghe, “Monkey Shines,” 1988) orchestrated an assassination against corrupt deputy chief Reid (Shawn Hatosy, “Animal Kingdom”), the entire Intelligence Unit is in danger of retaliation and professional reprimand. As the situation gets increasingly dire for Voight himself, rumors have been flying about a possible replacement — perhaps one in the form of Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer, “As the World Turns”), who is reportedly returning this season for a “redemption” (per ScreenRant).