The numbers are in, and they definitely prove why One Chicago matters. All three season premieres were named the top three original drama airings on NBC for the fall season—and that proves why the entire triumvirate is still such a vital viewing experience.
When factoring in a week’s worth of viewership and the many platforms across which all three shows air, Chicago Med took the crown with 8.8 million viewers. Chicago Fire was in second place with 5.85 million. In third place was Chicago PD, with a still pretty snazzy 3.98.
Even better, Med and Fire improved season-to-season when it comes to streaming premieres. And all three shows were up with +7 viewers season to season.
When it came to that vaunted 18 to 49-year-old demo, all three shows took an upward leap season over season. Chicago Med went up 19% with 18 to 49-year-olds in season 12 over season 11. For Chicago Fire, the same demo went up by 9% over their season 14 debut. Regarding Chicago PD, the improvement was mild but noticeable—season 14 was up 3% from season 13. Which not only means that all three One Chicago shows are important building blocks for the network’s line-up, it means that people keep on tuning in to watch these well-established dramas no matter how many times the cast switches up.
It also means that the long-lived series are all extremely vital parts of NBC’s line-up, no matter what you might hear about aging shows leaking viewership. They’ve not only conquered a surprisingly young demographic, but they’re continuing to bring in older viewers, upon which they established the strong bones of all three series. Not only are people still watching these series, they’re telling their friends about them. That’s a powerful testament to the quality inherent here.
But the ultimate question is—will the shows be able to keep up this high-bouncing performance all the way through the season? After all, there are newer dramas debuting every day, earning their own fanbases and drawing attention up and down the board. While there has been some drop-off between episode 1 and episode 2 of each series, there’s also plenty of viewers who’re sticking around—and that means that the One Chicago world is definitely here to stay, through the bad times, the good times, the worst of ratings, and the very best of ratings throughout the calendar year.
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