One Chicago fans can breathe a sigh of relief! NBC has renewed Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD for the 2026-27 season, ensuring the beloved franchise will continue for another season and remain a staple on the network.
NBC surprised fans late in the afternoon on Friday, March 27, when it announced that it had renewed Chicago Fire for a fifteenth season, Chicago Med for a twelfth season, and Chicago PD for a fourteenth season. The new seasons are expected to arrive in the fall, with the shows likely to maintain their Wednesday night time slots, keeping One Chicago Wednesdays going strong for another season.
The renewal comes much earlier than expected for the three shows, which One Chicago Center had pointed out were among nine NBC shows not yet renewed a mere hours before the renewals came through. Last year, NBC waited until May to renew the One Chicago shows, and there was an assumption that we'd be waiting at least a few more weeks before NBC renewed the shows.
Part of the reason it took so long for the renewals to come through last season was that negotiations came down to the wire in 2025. As part of those negotiations, major cost-cutting measures were put into place, which results in further budget cuts for all three shows. This included reducing the episode count orders ever so slightly, with NBC ordering 21 episodes over 22 episodes. There were also massive cast cuts, with the shows undergoing several cast exits—Chicago Fire took the hardest hit, losing three cast members with the exits of Jake Lockett, Daniel Kyri, and Michael Bradway.
While we know that Chicago Fire season 15, Chicago Med season 12, and Chicago PD season 14 are now happening, little is known about whether the renewals come with any further budget cuts.
Considering that NBC handed out these renewals much earlier than last year, it seems likely that the show did not undergo severe budget cuts, which should hopefully mean there won't be too many cast shakeups this offseason. We're also going to have to wait to see how many episodes the next seasons of the One Chicago shows end up consisting of. We imagine the season orders will likely be in the same wheelhouse of the show's current seasons with 21 episodes.
Regardless of how many episodes NBC has ordered, it's a relief to know that the One Chicago shows have been renewed and will be coming back in the fall!