Will Chicago Fire be cancelled due to the strike? (2023 update)

Chicago Fire was renewed for a 12th season by NBC, with plans to air during the fall of 2023. As you probably already know, we are about to enter the fall season, and there is no Chicago Fire in sight. The show has been taken off the network’s schedule for the rest of the year, and while NBC plans to resume it in 2024, there is some concern that the delays will affect the show in the long term.

The delay has been due to the writers and actors strike. If the strike wears on for long enough, is there a chance long-running shows like Chicago Fire will get cancelled?

Is Chicago Fire coming back in 2023?

There were certainly instances of shows that were terminally affected by the last writers strike in 2007. Shows were drastically shortened due to the lack of turnaround time, and the quality dipped in several respects, leading to the cancellation of previously popular titles like The CW’s Girlfriends, which was in its eighth season, and The 4400, which was cancelled after a season 3 cliffhanger.

This, however, is a worst case scenario. NBC failed to renew Chicago Fire for multiple seasons, as had been done in the past, but the show is still a ratings juggernaut and the centerpiece of the One Chicago franchise. It would benefit the network to keep the show around and to run out season 12 even if the strike will force the season to be significantly shorter than normal (another side effect of the 2007 strike).

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Chicago Fire having so many cliffhangers in season 11, including the whereabouts of Severide (Taylor Kinney), the fate of Mouch (Christian Stolte), and the romantic status of Brett (Kara Killmer) and Casey (Jesse Spencer), that NBC would get an enormous amount of pushback if they decided to pull the plug.

Fortunately, things are looking up. The writers guild of America have seemingly come to an agreement with the AMPTP, and new reports suggests that procedural shows like Fire will be given priority in terms of getting shows back on track. We could be getting season 12 as early as March 2024.

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