After NBC’s One Chicago Showrunners Revealed They Have A Text Chain Together, Here’s What They Told Us About Upcoming Crossovers

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After NBC's One Chicago Showrunners Revealed They Have A Text Chain Together, Here's What They Told Us About Upcoming Crossovers

As a dedicated fan who’s been following the One Chicago series since their inception, I must say that this year’s Wednesday night lineup is nothing short of a delightful symphony of drama and action. The return of all three shows on NBC has truly revitalized my TV nights, and it feels like coming home to old friends.

On Wednesday evenings in 2024, NBC’s lineup is brimming with excitement as the trio of One Chicago shows make a comeback. Specifically, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D. have resumed their run. In the opening episode of Season 10, Chicago Med saw two doctors departing, followed by Dermot Mulroney joining as the new fire chief in the season premiere of Chicago Fire, which marks Season 13. The climax of Chicago P.D.’s Season 12 debut left fans reeling with a surprising twist for Ruzek. I had the opportunity to chat with the showrunners of all three series before the premieres, and they shared insights about their group text chain and future crossover events.

In his new role as showrunner for the tenth season of “Chicago Med,” Allen MacDonald delved into the first nine seasons to gear up for the position, which are currently streaming on Peacock. He was the initial One Chicago showrunner I interviewed this fall, and when asked if he had conversations with Andrea Newman from “Fire” or Gwen Sigan from “P.D.”, he shared:

Initially, let me clarify that we’ve established a text group among the three of us, catching up with each other at various intervals. However, they were incredibly gracious upon our first interaction. As soon as I secured the job, I reached out to both of them for advice, since this role involves 22 episodes per year, and I have been streaming for multiple years, producing eight to ten or thirteen episodes.

Before taking up the role in “Chicago Med”, MacDonald’s latest TV productions as an executive producer included “Harlan Coben’s Shelter” on Prime Video and “13 Reasons Why” on Netflix, both of which had fewer than 14 episodes per season. The upcoming Season 10 of “Chicago Med” with its 22 episodes will bring the medical drama close to the 200-episode mark, representing a significant change for the new showrunner. He further added:

Initially, I needed to adjust my thinking pattern to a sequence similar to broadcasting, as my profession began on CSI and we used to produce 24 episodes. I’ve been through that pace before, I understand the atmosphere, but this time, there’s a slight change – I’m now in charge as the showrunner [laughs].

At the far end of the spectrum from newbie Allen MacDonald, Andrea Newman has been a part of the Chicago Fire team since its very first season back in 2012, starting as a producer. In 2021, she took over co-showrunner duties with Derek Haas and assumed the role of sole showrunner after Haas’ departure at the end of Season 11. When I inquired about the One Chicago group chat that keeps all the showrunners connected, she mentioned:

We love the little mini crossovers, where the characters kind of come in and out. We’ll get a Med character for a little bit. We have Trudy in an episode coming up from P.D., and I think Mouch is in a Med [episode]. It’s really nice to keep the audience aware that this is One Chicago, and they’re all in the same world, and we shoot a lot on their sets for our med scenes. There’s a really nice synergy between all the shows. Allen is really fun to have this year. He’s got a great vibe and great energy, and he knows the shows, so it’s fun to have him part of this team now too.

Regrettably, the most recent One Chicago crossover spanning three episodes is still the 2019 “Infection” trilogy, while the last two-part event took place between Fire and P.D. back in early 2020 before the COVID-19 halted productions. However, smaller crossovers are always enjoyable, and given the ongoing crises of One Chicago, it’s not unusual to find characters from Fire or P.D. at the hospital.

Regarding P.D., Gwen Sigan began her career as a writer for the police procedural series in 2016. By late 2021, she had climbed the ranks to become the showrunner. During our conversation about Burzek in Season 12 and beyond, I also managed to get her insights on collaborating with Allen MacDonald and Andrea Newman by sharing text messages.

It’s nice, and it’s fun just because we’re all in the same offices. It’s funny how different [it is]. You would think that we see each other every day just because we’re the same universe of shows, but we don’t. So it’s nice to have to have connection in that way. It’s been helpful, and there’s a lot of episodes where you’ll see, they’re not crossovers in that [multi-part] way, but you’ll see some of our characters coming over to Med this season. You’ll see some of our characters going to Fire. It’s always nice to know what they’ll be doing.

At present, we’re in a state of anticipation as we wait for the broadcast dates of the upcoming miniseries featuring characters transitioning between different shows. In my conversation with Gwen Sigan back in September, she mentioned that they were penning Episodes 7 and 8 on the P.D. team’s schedule, suggesting that the character-sharing event she hinted at will occur before the end of the year. Typically, the fall finales for One Chicago occur in the ninth episode of each season.

Don’t forget to tune into NBC every Wednesday evening for fresh installments of all three shows: “Chicago Med” at 8 pm ET, followed by “Chicago Fire” and wrapping up with “Chicago P.D.” at 10 pm ET. In case you missed the fall 2024 premieres, they are available to stream on Peacock.

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2024-09-28 04:37