Despite Controversial Budget Cuts, Chicago P.D. & Chicago Fire Dominate Streaming

One of the longest-running franchises on television is Dick Wolf‘s Windy City One Chicago universe, which includes Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D. In the aftermath of all three shows ending their respective seasons for the 2024/2025 broadcast lineup, it was revealed that NBC gave all the One Chicago shows new season orders. However, the renewals did not come without a catch: budget cuts. These budget cuts are rumored to affect shows like Chicago P.D. and Chicago Fire, which will look to minimize production expenses by reducing how much screen time certain series regulars have going forward. Despite this controversial decision, the streaming numbers for Chicago P.D. and Chicago Fire have seen a streaming spike.

Chicago Fire is the first installment in the Dick Wolf franchise, having premiered in 2012 and having run for 13 seasons with a combined total of over 270 episodes to date. The show follows the professional and personal lives of firefighters and rescue professionals at Firehouse 51 of the Chicago Fire Department. Due to budgetary constraints, the show is believed to have lost series regulars in both Daniel Kyri and Jake Lockett ahead of Season 14. Series showrunner Andrea Newman did, however, douse much of the fear of losing these stars while speaking in May, saying, “We haven’t sat down for Season 14 yet. We don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Chicago P.D. is the second entry into the One Chicago universe and kicked off in 2013. This arm of the franchise centered on the exploits of patrol officers of the Chicago Police Department, with a special focus on its Intelligence unit. With 12 seasons of the show under its belt, its recent Season 12 finale saw yet another foe of Intelligence set aside… Voight style. However, a long-awaited moment for many of the fans didn’t seem to shine as much as many expected. This meant the show caught some flak for how the finale panned out.

The Coming Seasons of ‘Chicago Fire’ and ‘Chicago P.D.’ Will Bring More Drama

Talk of budget cuts and negotiations on the contracts of some of the franchise’s veteran cast members is ongoing. However, there are still brand-new seasons of these shows to look forward to. Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) and Intelligence might have survived the campaign of Deputy Chief Reid (Shawn Hatosy), but that does not mean they are in the clear when Season 13 kicks off. “I think a lot of them are [going to be looking at the job differently],” showrunner Gwen Sigan previously said regarding Intelligence and how they’ll view their jobs going forward. “I definitely think Burgess [will approach the job differently]. For her, she had a lot to do with all of this, but she was really just trying to have someone’s back. I think it will have an effect on how she moves forward.”

Besides the departures of Kyri and Lockett, the coming season of Chicago Fire is sure to see a lot of shakeups for the members of Firehouse 51. A department-wide initiative aims to reduce costs, and this likely means certain characters will be affected. Despite their affectionate bromance, Mouch (Christian Stolte) and Herrmann (David Eigenberg) will likely face mandatory retirement from the CFD at some point, among other potential shifts. “We’re going to have a lot of turnover and a lot craziness going on in the CFD from the top, where people are being cut and moved, and everything’s going to get shaken up next season,” showrunner Newman said while teasing the new season.