The fall TV lineup across the broadcast networks is a lot lighter on returning scripted options than usual due to the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike. The three shows of NBC’s One Chicago are among the series affected, meaning no new episodes of Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., or Chicago Med in the coming weeks. Fortunately for fans, NBC is bringing the shows back to Wednesday night in a different way, and I’m already on board with the choices for the first couple of weeks.
While the first two hours of NBC’s Wednesday nights will involve new episodes of Quantum Leap and Magnum P.I., the third hour of primetime will belong to One Chicago. NBC will rotate memorable episodes of Fire, Med, and P.D. at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesdays, starting with four consecutive weeks of Chicago Fire. The episodes will be chosen from the 2022-2023 TV season, which was game-changing for all three shows.
The first Fire episode that will air as part of this rotation will be “A Guy I Used To Know” on October 4, which was the eleventh episode of Season 11 and aired in early January of this year. It was an important episode for more than one character, and an intriguing choice for a rerun to start out the fall. The second Fire rerun, airing on October 11, will be “Acting Up,” which was a big episode for Cruz when it premiered back in March.
Based on how I started rewatching Chicago P.D. Season 10 from the start when those reruns were airing on Wednesday nights following America’s Got Talent, I think it’ll be fun to have a selection of episodes rather than just going through the seasons in the same order that they first aired last year. After all, the full seasons are available with a Peacock Premium subscription if all you want to do is start over.
NBC will rotate over to repeats of P.D. and Med following the four weeks of Fire, but those episodes haven’t been announced at the time of writing. Med and Fire will be airing outside of their normal times as well, although this will be Fire’s return to the 10 p.m. time slot. The original One Chicago series aired at 10 p.m. up until Season 7, when NBC began the Chicago Wednesday block that starts with Med at 8 p.m., continues with Fire at 9 p.m., and ends with P.D.
The One Chicago reruns join two scripted shows that actually did complete new episodes prior to the strikes beginning: Quantum Leap and Magnum P.I. Hopefully it’s just a matter of time before the three Windy City dramas will be able to start production on the 2023-2024 TV season; the WGA strike came to an end on September 27, but the SAG-AFTRA strike is still ongoing.
Chicago Fire returns to NBC with its first fall repeat on Wednesday, October 4 at 10 p.m. ET, following the Season 5B premiere of Magnum P.I. at 9 p.m. and Season 2 premiere of Quantum Leap at 8 p.m. For some more of the viewing options that will be available despite the shortage of returning scripted hits, check out our 2023 TV schedule.
