3 major questions created by the One Chicago renewals

2. Will cast members return?

A TV show being renewed just guarantees that the show will be on the air. It offers no guarantees that any of the actors are going to return. The producers will have to negotiate new contracts for each of the performers on all of the One Chicago series, and that’s a minefield.

There are three seasons ahead, and any actor could choose to leave at any point. Especially when it comes to Chicago PD and Chicago Fire, some of these people will have been around for a decade if they get to 2023.

Some of them will probably sign new deals for the whole three seasons since they love their jobs that much; others may only want to do another year or two. Some could sign a one-year extension and then decide after next season that they want to come back. There are just so many ways we could see more actors leave the franchise or reduce their roles.

And that’s not even counting what’s been One Chicago’s biggest issue in recent years: producers deciding to cut actors from the shows. We’ve seen that happen to multiple stars recently. So with everyone’s future up for re-negotiation, producers could easily decide to not bring someone back, and give us another Jon Seda or Elias Koteas situation.

It doesn’t matter how popular someone is; if they can’t agree on a new contract, or the people behind the scenes don’t want to give them one/want to let them out early, these renewals could also lead to some major departures and casts that look a lot different than they do now.