The One Chicago shows have officially come to an end for the season, bringing another year of high-stakes drama to a close. On May 13, Chicago Med season 11, Chicago Fire season 14, and Chicago PD season 13 released their final episodes, and each of the One Chicago shows brought something very different to the table this season.
Each series leaned into its strengths to close out the season, which gave us three very unique finales. We saw quieter, character-driven moments in each show but also shocking twists and last-minute cliffhangers designed to leave fans counting down the days until fall.
While we walked away enjoying all three of the 2026 One Chicago finales, not every episode packed the same punch. Some delivered more satisfying payoffs, stronger emotional moments, or higher-stakes storytelling than others, making it impossible not to compare how each show stuck the landing.
So which finale rose above the rest, and which one fell just short of greatness? Let’s break down the Chicago Med, Fire, and PD finales and rank them from worst to best.
Needless to say, there are spoilers ahead for the One Chicago finales!Â
3. Chicago PD season 13 finale
The Chicago PD season 13 finale centered primarily on Officer Imani and her race to bring her sister’s abductor to justice. The hour saw the Intelligence Unit working the case and racing to find Kirby as Imani tried to break through and get her sister to see the truth. In the end, Shari ended up leading Imani into a trap and attempted to kill her sister before fleeing with Kirby. Voight would end up intercepting the pair as they fled, killing Kirby in the process.Â
The big twist of the episode came in the form of Voight discovering that it was not Kirby who had killed Lila, the victim that first led them to tracking down Shari. DNA proved that it was Shari who killed Lila, information that Voight shared with Imani in the closing moments, leaving her to question whether her sister would be heading to jail.Â
Overall it was a solid episode, but the biggest shortcoming was the way the finale ignored the season’s other ongoing storylines and revolved too much around Imani and Voight. Yes, the other members of the team were all present and helped with the case, but they played secondary roles in the finale without any meaningful updates to their own character arcs.Â
There was no mention of Ruzek processing the death of his father, no update on Burgess and Ruzek’s ongoing move to a new neighborhood, and not a single update on the Atwater baby front. The show put way too much of a focus on the Imani case and failed to dedicate any time for the show’s other core characters, which was truly disappointing.Â
As for the cliffhanger, it was definitely underwhelming compared to past Chicago PD cliffhangers.
2. Chicago Med season 11 finale
Coming in the middle of the pack is the Chicago Med season 11 finale, which saw Gaffney on lockdown in a Code Silver after a prisoner escaped and stole a guard’s gun. The Code Silver storyline is honestly where the finale fell short, as the plot itself was underwhelming and didn’t really result in any shocking events happening directly. There was no sense of panic over the fate of the doctors, as most seemed to be going about things with a business-as-usual approach, with the lockdown quickly being cleared on many floors.Â
Given how much the finale hyped up the Code Silver, we wish the stakes felt higher and that lives actually seemed to be at risk. Instead, the gunman storyline felt like an afterthought rather than a pressing matter we needed to be concerned about. Even the climax of the gunman being brought to justice was underwhelming, with no real struggle. Having seen shows like Doc and Grey’s Anatomy deal with a gunman-on-the-loose type storyline in which the danger was imminent and the gunman actually left a trail of terror in his path, Chicago Med’s gunman storyline left us more than a little underwhelmed.Â
Now, while we weren’t exactly a fan of the gunman storyline, there was a lot to love about the Chicago Med finale which did a brilliant job of juggling several storylines.Â
Unlike on Chicago PD, where we really only saw two core characters’ storylines furthered, Chicago Med gave every single member of its larger ensemble the chance to shine in an episode that tied up a lot of loose ends that played out over the course of the season.Â
We got to see Hannah and Dean welcome their baby; Lenox finally came clean to her brother about her diagnosis, while Ripley professed his love to Lenox; we learned that Gio, the young man who called into the suicide hotline during “The Book of Charles," was okay; and Charles’ job was saved. The finale also delivered unexpected moments such as the death of Frost’s father and Miranda informing Goodwin that her time at Gaffney was coming to an end.Â
Chicago Med might not have ended with multiple big cliffhangers this season, but its season finale was a perfect end to another amazing season and left us excited to see what’s to come in season 12.
1. Chicago Fire season 14 finale
Taking the top spot on the rankings is the Chicago Fire season 14 finale, which most certainly delivered on its promise to leave fans breathless.Â
The Chicago Fire finale was unique in nature in that the episode bounced around to various points in time to tell the storyline, with the events of the episode building towards what would become the season-ending cliffhanger. Over the course of the episode, the show managed to give us some amazing moments such as Cindy and Herrmann’s vow renewal ceremony while also furthering ongoing storylines in meaningful ways that will see them carried into the next season.Â
The closing moment of the finale left the lives of nearly the entire ensemble hanging in the balance and has left fans anxious to know who might not survive the ordeal. It was one of the show’s most shocking and unexpected season finale cliffhangers of all time and left fans with so much to think about during the summer break through the strategic way things played out.
It’s not just the unknown of who will live or die that will keep fans talking, but all of the little moments that unfolded in the buildup to the season-ending call that put the firefighters of 51 in grave danger.Â
Chicago Fire did a brilliant job of laying the groundwork for storylines that will continue to flourish in season 15 and keeping fans in the dark about its biggest decisions. Severide made his decision of whether to become captain at 51 or to take the job at OFI, but we never learned his decision. Mouch got an unexpected update on his book deal, hinting that we’ll see the storyline continue, should he survive. Cruz learned that he and Chloe are expecting twin girls, laying the groundwork for exploring the expansion of his family in a way that’s even bigger than what he was prepared for. We also welcomed back Pascal, saw hints that Vasquez might not have given up on his dream of being a cop, saw Isaiah return and express an interest in moving back in with Kidd and Severide, and even got a fun nod to Boden.Â
There was so much going on in the episode, but in the best possible way as we were able to see every character’s storyline pushed forward in ways that left us eager to know what the future would hold. And then the show capped things off with an epic cliffhanger that we’re not going to be able to stop talking about until season 15 finally arrives this fall!
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