After months of the Writers Guild of America going on strike and studios digging in their heels and refusing to make a fair deal, the two sides finally reached an agreement that was overwhelmingly positive for television and film writers. This means writers’ rooms have been able to get back to work with the goal of getting some new TV episodes for next season written and hopefully produced in a timely manner. It also means some shake-ups are in order — if the Wolf Entertainment/Universal Television writers’ rooms are any indication.
Variety reports how eight of Dick Wolf’s shows have resumed writing, and there’s big news on the front of the “One Chicago” franchise. “Chicago Fire” Season 12 will have a new showrunner in the form of Andrea Newman. She’s been part of the “Chicago Fire” family since the very first season as a co-executive producer before being bumped up to executive producer. She’s also been a co-showrunner with Derek Haas, but it was announced in November 2022 that he would step down from the series. For Season 12, Newman will have showrunner duties all her own, but by all accounts, she’s more than up for the task.
The other “One Chicago” properties will keep things consistent, as “Chicago Med” will have Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov as showrunners, while “Chicago P.D.” will be overseen by Gwen Sigan.
FBI: International also gets a new showrunner
The other big news to come out of Dick Wolf’s media empire is in regards to “FBI: International.” That show has Season 3 on the horizon, and it’ll also be spearheaded by a new showrunner, with executive producer Matt Olmstead taking the reins. The previous showrunner of “FBI: International” was also Derek Haas, but when he stepped down from “Chicago Fire,” he stepped away from all of Wolf’s shows, leaving the doors open for more people to move up.
One Wolf Entertainment show that’s delaying its return to the writers’ room is “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” which has Season 4 on deck. There have only been three seasons of the procedural so far, but it’s already gone through six showrunners during that time, including Sean Jablonski, David Graziano, Barry O’Brien, Bryan Goluboff, and Ilene Chaiken. With no showrunner, things can’t get underway, and there’s presently no date for when writing will resume on that series.
Other than “Law & Order: Organized Crime” getting stalled, it’s good news for fans of Wolf’s shows. Three “One Chicago” shows, three “FBI” shows, and the remaining two “Law & Order” series will get back to work. No doubt viewers are eager to see what lies in store for these shows, especially when it comes to “Chicago Fire,” which had Season 11 end on a massive cliffhanger with Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer) proposing to Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer). Of course, there’s still the matter of the studios making a fair deal with SAG-AFTRA before anything written can be filmed with the actors, but Andrea Newman has plenty to keep her busy in the meantime.
