Chicago Fire will directly compete with Shonda Rhimes’ firefighter series
Chicago Fire is set to directly battle Shonda Rhimes’ new firefighter series after ABC scheduled the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff to air on Thursday nights.
It’s official: Chicago Fire will go head to head with Seattle Fire this spring.
ABC announced its midseason schedule this week at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, and lined up Shonda Rhimes’ new firefighter series directly opposite Chicago Fire season 6, as we posited last year.
The premiere of the still untitled Grey’s Anatomy spinoff will air Thursday, March 22 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., putting it directly against a new episode of Chicago Fire in its second hour.
The good news for One Chicago fans is that the competition is temporary for now; after the first episode, the Shonda Rhimes series will settle in the Thursday at 9 p.m. time slot, an hour earlier than Chicago Fire.
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But ABC putting its new firefighting drama exactly opposite NBC‘s well-established firefighting drama, even for one night, is canny network programming.
Will folks switch over to Chicago Fire at 10 p.m.? Or will the fact that the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff starts an hour earlier allow its first episode to hook some of that audience?
We’ll find out in March, when the ratings will tell if Shonda Rhimes is able to build her own kind of One Chicago-type universe.
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After all, there are more than a few similarities between the two properties. At TCA, it was noted that there will be crossovers between the firefighting series and Grey’s Anatomy, just like there are regular crossovers between Chicago Fire and its other two series.
The Grey’s Anatomy spin-off also has a character whose storyline is the reverse of Fire favorite Jeff Clarke (Jeff Hephner).
Where Clarke left the Chicago Fire Department to become a doctor, the Shonda Rhimes series is moving Dr. Ben Warren (Jason George) from Grey’s Anatomy and having him shift from doctor to firefighter.
What does this mean for One Chicago fans? It may be no more than an idle curiosity, as Fire has an established audience and will be well into its season by the time Shonda Rhimes starts her show.
But it’s a pretty rare thing on TV that two similar shows wind up squaring off against each other directly, even if it’s only for one week. Plus, this is the first time that there’s been a show similar to Chicago Fire on broadcast TV since its premiere, so that makes it even more interesting to see how it’ll all unfold.
Next: What's coming up on Chicago Fire this season
What do you think of ABC scheduling its new fire drama to start directly opposite Chicago Fire? Let us know your reaction to the news in the comments.
Chicago Fire airs Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC.