NBC’s One Chicago franchise is one of the most successful franchises in all of television with no signs of slowing down. Comprised of Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD, the franchise proudly represents responders through the shared universe, which is home to the three shows.
It’s been 14 years since Chicago Fire debuted and kicked off the franchise, which shows no signs of slowing down all these years later. The One Chicago trio of shows continues to rank as NBC’s most-watched programs, the annual crossover event is always one of television’s biggest nights of the year, and the shows' fans are just as passionate about the shows now as they were when they first started.
While the franchise has remained strong with this core trio of shows, there was once a time when NBC attempted to expand the One Chicago franchise. Longtime fans will recall that NBC didn’t stop at just three shows and that a fourth show did make it to air; it just didn’t have the longevity of Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD.
Chicago Justice debuted 9 years ago in March 2017
Back in March 2017, NBC attempted to expand the One Chicago franchise with the addition of a legal drama, and Chicago Justice was born.
The series starred Philip Winchester, Carl Weathers, Monica Barbaro, Joelle Carter, and Jon Seda and followed the prosecutors and investigators who made up the State’s Attorney's team. The series was led by Winchester’s Peter Stone, an assistant state's attorney who also happened to be the son of Law & Order’s Benjamin Stone, and took fans into the legal genre with each episode following a case-of-the-week approach as we watched the prosecuting team working to get justice in the courtroom.
Despite a strong start, the show struggled to find an audience and was canceled after just one season, though it wasn’t the show’s ratings that were entirely to blame. NBC ultimately chose to cancel the show as there was a fear that it was too similar to Law & Order, and questioned whether the show could stand on its own.
It was a fair argument to make, as the show was indeed compared heavily to Law & Order, which made sense given that it hailed from Wolf Entertainment and also featured a connection to the original series through Peter Stone. The show was almost like the Walmart version of Law & Order and didn’t really chart its own path like the other One Chicago shows, which each brought something different to the network.
Of course, the show’s schedule didn’t help it establish a strong case for renewal in the ratings department. NBC debuted the show on a Wednesday night, aired its second episode the following Sunday, then aired an episode the Tuesday after, before the show went back to Sunday night, where it finished its season. This schedule made it hard for fans to keep up with the show and for it to find a strong audience, which did play a role in the network’s decision – even if it wasn’t the reason NBC canceled the show.
While Chicago Justice season 1 was strong, it didn’t quite capture our attention the same way its sister series did, and it’s likely for the best that the show was a one-and-done spinoff. It was directly after NBC decided to cancel Chicago Justice that the network made the decision to finally move all three One Chicago shows to the same night, giving way to One Chicago Wednesdays. Upon moving to one night, the franchise saw a notable uptick in viewership, and the move has helped with its ongoing success.