Today, the One Chicago franchise is one of the most successful franchises in all of television; however, like Rome, it wasn’t built in a day. It all began with the launch of Chicago Fire and it wasn’t long after that the world expanded with Chicago PD, but the powers that be weren’t finished there.
In April 2015, the viewers were introduced to the team at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center via a backdoor pilot in Chicago Fire which expanded the franchise in an exciting new way. The backdoor pilot introduced fans to the team that would become the heart of Chicago Med, which included a mix of characters we’d previously been introduced within the One Chicago Universe and new additions making their debuts in the episode. This included Nick Gehlfuss (Dr. Will Halstead), Yaya DaCosta (April Sexton), S. Epatha Merkerson (Sharon Goodwin), and Oliver Platt (Daniel Charles), who crossed paths with the firefighters of Firehouse 51, who were trapped at Chicago Med when the hospital went into lockdown after a former patient entered the hospital carrying what he claimed was a grenade with a deadly airborne disease.
The episode left fans wanting more, and it didn’t take long for NBC to officially order Chicago Med to series. Following the backdoor pilot, NBC began working on building out the show, which included the addition of several new characters who would round out the show’s cast with Brian Tee (Ethan Choi), Colin Donnell (Connor Rhodes), Torrey DeVitto (Natalie Manning), Rachel DiPillo (Sarah Reese), and Marlyne Barrett (Maggie Lockwood). Work on the show began over the summer and that fall the One Chicago Universe expanded once more.
November 17, 2025 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Chicago Med premiere
After a success backdoor pilot, Chicago Med joined Chicago Fire and Chicago PD on the air during the 2015-2016 season with its series premiere on Tuesday, November 17, 2015. That’s right, November 17, 2025 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Chicago Med series premiere, a date that is one of the most important and historic days in the franchise’s history!
While the One Chicago Universe was two shows strong when Chicago Med entered the mix in 2015, its arrival is what truly helped to cement the One Chicago Universe into what we know it as today. It effectively completed the trifecta of first responder shows, giving us not only a successful police and firefighter drama, but a medical drama to join the mix and eventually paved the way for NBC bringing all three shows together on Wednesday nights.
The addition of Chicago Med opened the doors for so many amazing storylines to be explored and gifted the One Chicago Universe with countless incredible characters. It’s honestly insane that 10 years have passed since the series premiere, as it feels like just yesterday the doors of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center opened. The last ten years have given us so many memorable moments and the show just keeps getting better with age.
Season 10 was one of the show’s best seasons ever, and season 11 is off to an incredible start with so many compelling new storylines involving our favorite characters. It’s rare for a show to feel this fresh so far into its run, but that’s a testament to the show’s amazing writing team, who just keeps finding new ways to keep audiences engaged.
There’s no telling what the future will hold, but on November 17 we’re looking forward to celebrating the historic day in the One Chicago franchise with a rewatch of the Chicago Med season 1 premiere. Revisiting that first episode is a perfect way to celebrate the anniversary and it’s certain to give you a sense of nostalgia in taking a walk down memory lane to the episode that began it all!