Summary

• One Chicago's renewal for the 2024-2025 season is a testament to its longevity in the TV landscape.
• Interconnected storytelling in One Chicago allows for exciting crossovers within the franchise.
• Chicago Justice's cancelation 7 years ago sheds light on the challenges of sustaining spinoff series within the One Chicago universe.

One Chicago will continue its run for the 2024-2025 TV season, which makes one cancelation from seven years ago a bigger anomaly. Composed of Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med, the franchise is Dick Wolf’s expansion endeavor to the Midwest after focusing on narratives set in New York for many years. All three shows take on a procedural storytelling format, with all three series following the personal and professional lives of people in Firehouse 51, Intelligence, and Gaffney Medical’s Emergency Room. Like Law & Order, which airs Thursday nights, One Chicago occupies the network’s Wednesday three-hour primetime slot.

A major perk of interconnected storytelling is its ability to do crossovers. Like on the big screen, crossovers have been one of the highlights of One Chicago, although it isn’t the only brand that does this. CBS’ NCIS has also expanded by launching several spinoffs, with a couple more in the works at this point, allowing them to do t missions with the mothership. That being said, what separates One Chicago (& Law & Order) is that projects all clearly fall under the same umbrella, not to mention take place in the same city, making it easier to do such special episodes.

One Chicago Shows' Longevity Makes Chicago Justice's Cancellation More Surprising

All One Chicago Shows Are Coming Back For The 2024-2025 TV Season.

For the longest time, Wolf Entertainment’s New York branch was its flagship. Law & Order started the whole franchise, and while NBC did cancel it for several years, it was able to return through a revival that is essentially a continuation of its original run. There were other spinoffs, but currently, Law & Order: SVU is its primary show; its popularity is bolstered by its headline-inspired storytelling, which helps it consistently come up with interesting cases. Couple that with a great ensemble, and it isn’t surprising why the Mariska Hargitay-led series is thriving.

That being said, One Chicago’s 2024-2025 renewal is making a run for Law & Order’s money. As reported, NBC has ordered one more year for the Windy City-based franchise, confirming Chicago Med season 10. Granted that it is far from the multi-year renewal that One Chicago had secured in the past, it’s still an indication of confidence from the network. Somehow, this makes Chicago Justice’s cancelation more curious. Debuting in 2017, it's the fourth installment of One Chicago, which, unfortunately, was canceled after just one season, unlike its peers.

Why Chicago Justice Was Canceled After Season 1

Chicago Justice Was The Fourth Installment Of One Chicago.

Similar to Wolf Entertainment's other ensemble series, Chicago Justice had a weekly case format. Its narrative focused on the prosecutors and investigators at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. Instead of simply taking on cases, however, its stories also involved politics in the legal arena, as well as the image of their office. Spearheaded by Philip Winchester as Assistant State's Attorney Peter Stone and Carl Weather's Cook County State's Attorney Mark Jefferies, the show also featured Chicago PD's Antonio Dawson, who was transitioning to the new series out of Voight's Intelligence Unity in the 21st District.

It doesn't help that Chicago Justice was way too similar to One Chicago's New York cousins.

When Chicago Justice was canceled, it was the lowest-rated One Chicago series, which shouldn't really be that big of an issue, considering that it was still trying to find its footing. It did objectively well for a fresh launch, with NBC ordering more seasons from other series with worse performance. Pulling the plug on Chicago Justice, however, was due to its dubious sustainability. It doesn't help that Chicago Justice was way too similar to One Chicago's New York cousins. In fact, after the series was canceled, Stone became Olivia Benson's ADA, replacing Rafael Barba in Law & Order: SVU.

How Long Will Chicago Fire, Med, And P.D. Last?

There's no end in sight for One Chicago — at least for now.

As seen in many active procedurals on TV, the storytelling format allows for the network to keep them going for many years. Law & Order: SVU serves as the longest-running continuous scripted series with 25 seasons under its belt, and it isn't showing signs of stopping any time soon. All One Chicago installments have the potential to run for more years, but certain factors could impact its longevity beyond having a procedural format. Cast changes are big. For example, Chicago Fire just wrapped up Matt Casey's story in tandem with Kara Killmer's exit.

One Chicago needs to make sure that they are replacing beloved characters with equally interesting ones to keep people invested in their narratives.

While the universe is no stranger to ensemble reshuffles, One Chicago needs to make sure that they are replacing beloved characters with equally interesting ones to keep people invested in their narratives. This is particularly important with Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med, since they take a more soap-operatic approach to their players' personal stories. Secondly, One Chicago must also consistently reinvent its cases. Law & Order: SVU has been great about this, so perhaps Wolf can take inspiration from Hargitay's series.

One Chicago airs every Wednesday on NBC.