Chicago Fire, Med, and PD continue to prove their staying power as one of the strongest ongoing television franchises in the game. The shows continue to captivate millions of fans worldwide, with the three One Chicago shows ranking among the most-watched shows on broadcast and leading the charge on NBC in the ratings.Â
The shows show no signs of slowing down and are all set to return in the fall for new seasons following their renewals at NBC. Fans remain invested in all three shows and their interconnected storytelling has created a shared universe in which you never know when a familiar face might pop up. This has always been part of what has made the One Chicago franchise so successful: in that these aren’t just shows set within the same world; they share a connected universe, and the characters often cross paths as you’d expect first responders to do when working together in the same city.Â
Given the ongoing success of the One Chicago franchise, it’s perhaps of little surprise that CBS has seemingly been inspired by the franchise and now wants to create its own version of the One Chicago universe.Â
It all began back in 2022 when CBS decided to get into the firefighter drama game with the launch of Fire Country. From there, CBS expanded the franchise with the launch of Sheriff Country, and now it seems they’re looking to round out the franchise with a new medical drama set within the same fictional Northern California.Â
As Deadline was first to report, CBS is working on a new Fire Country spinoff that would center around a medical team based in Edgewater, California. The series, which is in very early stages of development, would be launched in the second season of Sheriff Country, with the goal being to introduce a character in the season 2 cast that would go on to lead the medical drama spinoff.Â
Should that series make it off the ground, this would give CBS a trio of series all set within the same universe, with one centering around firefighters, one focused on police, and the last being built around those in the medical field. It’s practically a tracing of the approach NBC took with building its One Chicago universe which began with a firefighter drama (Chicago Fire), then expanded with a crime drama (Chicago PD), before finally adding a medical drama to the mix (Chicago Med).Â
We can’t say we blame CBS for using the One Chicago shows as its framework to create its own version of the One Chicago universe. We’re honestly surprised others haven’t stolen inspiration from the franchise given its ongoing success, and it’ll be interesting to see if CBS is able to make the Fire Country medical drama work.
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