Although Chicago Fire is NBC’s top-rated drama, the firefighter and paramedic-centered series isn’t doing as well as its top rating might suggest. When Chicago Fire first premiered in 2012, it was unique among primetime dramas because of its focus on rescue workers, setting a trend that resulted in other fire-centered shows such as CBS’ Fire Country. However, Chicago Fire season 13 has been a more challenging season, in part because Fire Chief Wallace Bowden (Eamonn Walker) left Firehouse 51, signifying the most major cast change in the series’ history.
Bowden’s exit left room for the new chief, Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) to shake up Firehouse 51. Pascal’s goal is to run a tighter ship than Bowden did, which has led to constant conflicts with Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). This season has also seen other changes to the Chicago Fire cast such as Damon (Michael Bradway) being transferred out after continually refusing to obey orders at fire scenes. Additionally, fan-favorite Cruz’s (Joe Miñoso) job is in jeopardy after being blackmailed into taking part in a robbery at Firehouse 51 that went sideways.
Chicago Fire Season 13 Tops NBC’s Non-Sports Programs
All Three One Chicago Shows Are Doing Well
At first glance, Chicago Fire is NBC’s biggest success in the 2024-2025 season. When compared to all other NBC shows, it is the #2 show, with the only program outdoing that being Sunday Night Football (via TVLine). Thus, Chicago Fire is NBC’s top-rated scripted show, pulling in a total of 4.8 million viewers. Additionally, when compared to all of broadcast television, this series is the fourth most-watched series, thus giving it a competitive edge despite the issues it’s facing.
These strong numbers make it likely that Chicago Fire will be renewed for season 14. Interestingly, all of the One Chicago shows are top-rated, with Chicago Med coming in just behind Chicago Fire and Chicago PD ranked slightly lower than its medical counterpart. This demonstrates that even after over a decade on the air, the One Chicago franchise is still NBC’s strongest performer, with Chicago Fire doing especially well. This is impressive both because of the series’ longevity and numerous cast changes that could have knocked Chicago Fire out of the top spot.
Chicago Fire Season 13 Loses 8% Of Its Viewership From Season 12
The Decline Is A Serious Loss of Viewership
Although Chicago Fire is NBC’s top-rated scripted show, it still lost a significant number of its viewers from season 12. An 8% loss is less bad than several other NBC shows, but it is still concerning that eight of every 100 people who watched season 12 have opted not to continue with the series. Additionally, Chicago Med has significantly closed the gap and could overtake Chicago Fire with a dedicated advertising campaign. Chicago Fire has always been the top-rated of the One Chicago shows, so it should take these threats to its position seriously.
It was likely that some people would opt not to watch now that Bowden was no longer in the series even though other parts of the audience might have tuned in to find out what his replacement was like.
There are several reasons that Chicago Fire might be losing viewers. The network television industry has never fully recovered from the writers’ and actors’ strike of 2023, and shows across the board have lost viewers. In Chicago Fire’s case, losing Bowden was also a significant problem, as he had been the chief of Firehouse 51 since the series premiere. Thus, it was likely that some people would opt not to watch now that Bowden was no longer in the series even though other parts of the audience might have tuned in to find out what his replacement was like.
How Chicago Fire Season 13 Can Revitalize Its Storytelling
The Series Needs To Get Back To Basics
When Chicago Fire first began, it was unique because it depicted firefighters and paramedics realistically. This type of show had not been done since Emergency! in the 1970s, and the realistic scenarios made it attractive. The early episodes were also unafraid to demonstrate how dangerous a career firefighting is, and characters sometimes died unexpectedly while fighting fires, leading to stories that were both emotional and true to life.
Since Pascal came on the show with a mission to reform Firehouse 51, the series should lean into that and let the firehouse politics and rescue stories feed into one another.
In order to regain its audience, Chicago Fire should return to focusing on the dangerous rescue missions it was once known for. However, since Pascal came on the show with a mission to reform Firehouse 51, the series should lean into that and let the firehouse politics and rescue stories feed into one another.
