Chicago PD was the second One Chicago title to be launched on NBC, and it has held down the secondary spot in terms of popularity. For the bulk of its time on the air, the show has been second to Chicago Fire in terms of viewership. This has not been the case in season 12, though.
TV Line released the midseason ratings for several network dramas on December 30. It was not a surprise to see Chicago Fire top the list when it came to the One Chicago franchise. The firefighting staple continued to be a huge draw for the network 7.8 million total viewers. It was NBC's number one rated non-sports program in 2024.
PD has been the lowest-rated One Chicago show
Chicago PD, however, slipped pretty significantly. Instead of pulling in second, or giving Fire a run for its money in terms of total viewers, the procedural drama plummeted a shocking 11% to finish behind Chicago Med. This is notable, given that the still-very-popular Chicago Fire is the lead-in show for PD.
It's saying a lot that Chicago Fire continues to excel, while audience retention for Chicago PD is down 2% from the season prior. This means fans are making a conscious decision to watch the former, but are deciding to change the channel when the latter comes on.
Chicago PD has pulled in 6.9 million total viewers, which is means it has fallen behind Chicago Med for the first time in multiple seasons. Generally, Med is considered to be the third of the One Chicago franchise in terms of popularity.
Chicago Med has proven to be more popular
This season, however, has seen the medical drama pull ahead of PD with an impressive 7.4 million total viewers. It's the smallest audience gap between Chicago Fire and Med in four seasons, and it leaves PD in the dust as the only One Chicago title to fall under 7 million total viewers.
So what gives? Well, the departure of beloved PD characters like Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) and Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) hasn't helped. The show is in a bit of a transition period, and focusing on newcomers like Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) and Kiana Cook (Toya Turner) is proving to not be as popular a decision.
This, of course, is par for the course. Every show goes through rough patches, particularly when it's been on the air for over a decade. Hopefully Chicago PD can bounce back during the second half of season 12 and reclaim its spot!
Chicago PD returns to NBC on Wednesday, January 8.