One Chicago made some notable changes to its schedule for the January 29 crossover event. The regular order of shows was switched around, so that Chicago Fire kicked off the action instead of airing second, behind Chicago Med. Chicago PD, as always, held down the third and final time slot.
This change proved confusing to some fans, especially those who were tuning in expecting to see Med, only to see Fire characters interacting with people from the other shows. This sizable change raises the question about the One Chicago schedule moving forward. Will NBC continue to tweak its Wednesday lineup or will it resume its usual order?
One Chicago will resume its normal schedule on February 5
Well, fans of tradition are in luck. One Chicago Wednesday is going back to its usual order tonight, February 5. This means Chicago Med will kick things off at 8/7 c, followed by Fire and then PD in the 10/9 c slot. You might think that the one week switch up would have negatively impacted the ratings for each show, but it proved to be the opposite.
Chicago Fire and PD drew season high Nielsen ratings during the crossover, and Med, despite being in a different time slot, managed to top them both. Med continues to be the surprise story of the NBC season, nipping at Fire's heels in a way that we haven't seen in at least four years.
Chicago Med has continued to outperform PD in the ratings, and during the fall finales, it fell just short of surpassing Fire, finishing 0.4 million viewers behind. The medical drama has done a terrific job of adjusting to cast exits and newcomers, and it will even have the benefit of additional crossover storylines in season 10.
Chicago Med will spearhead the Wednesday lineup
Med showrunner Allen MacDonald told One Chicago Center that there will be a storyline involving a Chicago Fire character in the near future. "There are some repercussions," he stated. "One of the Chicago Fire characters will pop up on Chicago Med in episode 15. And we'll continue a dynamic between two characters that was set up in that."
There's also going to be a focus on fan favorite, Dr. Dean Archer (Steven Weber), in episode 17. Allen MacDonald told TV Line that the episode will be titled "The Book of Archer," and will give him plenty of room to shine. "The whole episode is from Archer’s point of view, so he’s, literally, in every scene…," he explained. "We’ll do a deep dive into his character."