Chicago Fire and Chicago Med moving to Wednesdays in new NBC block

CHICAGO FIRE -- "Hiding Not Seeking" Episode 613 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jesse Lee Soffer as Jay Halstead, Jason Beghe as Hank Voight, Eamonn Walker as Wallace Boden -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Morris/NBC)
CHICAGO FIRE -- "Hiding Not Seeking" Episode 613 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jesse Lee Soffer as Jay Halstead, Jason Beghe as Hank Voight, Eamonn Walker as Wallace Boden -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Morris/NBC) /
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Chicago Med and Chicago Fire are headed to Wednesdays next fall to join Chicago PD, as NBC has opted to air all three Chicago shows in one three-hour block.

One Chicago is going down to one night. NBC released its primetime schedule for next fall on Sunday, and in it was the reveal that the network has decided to air Chicago Fire and Chicago Med on the same night as Chicago PD.

Chicago Med season 3 will lead off Wednesday nights at 8 p.m., followed by Chicago Fire season 7 at 9 p.m. Chicago PD season 6 will stay in the show’s established Wednesday at 10 p.m. slot.

This idea takes the One Chicago franchise in a whole other direction; while shows and their spinoffs have aired together before, there’s never been a whole night of one franchise.

And while it sounds cool in theory, will it work for NBC in practice?

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It’s convenient for die-hard One Chicago fans to have all three shows on the same night, but will they want to sit there for three straight hours on Wednesday?

The move also minimizes the brand’s exposure, as instead of being present across three different nights now it will only exist on one. Part of the One Chicago strength was that it seemed to always be around on NBC’s schedule, and therefore in ads and on social media as well.

On the other hand, it will make crossovers really convenient…

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NBC didn’t give a reason for the schedule shifts on Sunday, but it’ll be interesting to see if they do. As we’ve pointed out in the ratings reports, Med was holding strong on Tuesday and Fire, while not as big in numbers was still the network’s top-rated Thursday series.

Now Chicago Fire is going to have its second time slot change in two seasons, and so will Chicago Med.

The one obvious positive in this big shocker, though, is that it confirms Chicago Med will return to NBC’s fall schedule after one season on the midseason bench. Congratulations to the Med team; now get ready for your next move! And One Chicago fans, get ready for a long but exciting night of television.

We’ll update this post if more details become available.

Next: What else we know about the One Chicago renewals

What do you think of NBC’s decision to air all three One Chicago shows on Wednesday nights? Will it change how you watch? Let us know in the comments.