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Chicago Fire season 12 will reduce appearances from main cast

By Danilo Castro

CHICAGO FIRE -- "Damage Control" Episode 1115 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jake Lockett as Carver, Alberto Rosende as Blake Gallo, Miranda Rae Mayo as Stella Kidd, Christian Stolte as Randy “Mouch” McHolland -- (Photo by: Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC)
CHICAGO FIRE -- "Damage Control" Episode 1115 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jake Lockett as Carver, Alberto Rosende as Blake Gallo, Miranda Rae Mayo as Stella Kidd, Christian Stolte as Randy “Mouch” McHolland -- (Photo by: Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC) /
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Chicago Fire will return for season 12, but it appears as though strings will be attached. Deadline has revealed some crucial details about the show and the rest of the One Chicago franchise after they were renewed for an additional year.

The outlet states that the budgets for Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD will be cut during the 2023-24 season, which will lead to some changes in terms of episode count and cast prioritization. In the case of the former, it means the main cast members will be appearing in less episodes.

Who is in the Chicago Fire season 12 cast?

Historically, Fire has averaged 21 episodes per season. The lone exception has been season 9, which was affected by COVID-19 and is the only season to date to not cross the 20 episode mark (it wound up with only 16). This is all going to stay the same, but the characters who star in most of these episodes will be seen less.

This is not atypical for networks and long-running shows. It’s generally understood that within the TV industry, a show that has been on the air for a decade plus is going to cost more money than a show that’s relatively new. NBC is making similar budget cuts with another Dick Wolf franchise, Law and Order.

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Basically, all this means is that Chicago Fire writers will have to employ some tricks and storytelling tactics to keep secondary characters out of certain episodes. Presumably, there will be instances where characters will be implied to be present at the 51, but not seen onscreen, or even instances where the they are said to be doing something by another character, instead of shown doing it themselves.

It will definitely take some craftiness on the part of the creative team, but if done correctly, it shouldn’t break up the natural flow of the show too drastically.

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For the latest Chicago PD season 10 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago PD category at One Chicago Center.

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