Will Season 12 of Chicago Fire set our screens ablaze and raise the stakes higher than ever?
How many fires will the team put out before they succumb to the flames?
Keep reading to find out!
Firehouse 51 has been with us for over a decade now and still never fails to entice us with its trailblazing plots and insatiable action sequences that make our hearts jump out of our skins at every pivotal moment. Season 11 was no less of a stellar season, with a massive cliffhanger that haunts the viewers every day and urges them to continuously surf the net for any new updates on the arrival of Season 12 to quench their hangover from the bind-boggling end of Season 11.
With innumerable cliffhangers and no hint of an answer in the last three months since the announcement of its renewal for Season 12, we are still pondering over the fate of the stellar series. We are not exactly expecting any answers, given the ongoing writer’s strike and the effect it has had on scripts and production houses. It is truly an impending doom for scripted shows!
However, there is a silver lining. We have updates concerning Firehouse 51, and it is something you would love to hear, given the recent unhinged developments of the strike situation.
But before we move forward, let’s make one thing clear: we don’t have any new episodes releasing tonight. Why, you ask? Continue reading!
Chicago Fire Season 12 Strike News: Are There Any Updates?
With its renewal announcement initiation in 2023, fans were eagerly anticipating the arrival of Chicago Fire Season 12 by fall 2023. However, seems like fate had other plans for the series.
May 2023 witnessed the onslaught of the gravest writer’s protest in the form of the WGA union. Amidst the protest, several competing networks updated their fall broadcast schedules in anticipation of the dissipation of the strikes within the next month.
However, in July, the actors union SAG-AFTRA also joined in the protest for their wage rights and better protection against the hindsight of Artificial Intelligence. The last time such a large-scale strike sent Hollywood productions into an indefinite hiatus was 63 whole years ago! We are currently in the third month of this double-strike situation, and there are no hopes for any reconciliation through negotiations.
In a recent meeting held for the first time in more than three months, the Writers Guild and the AMPTP on Friday failed to reach an agreement to resume contract negotiations. Their inability to agree on terms for returning to the bargaining table comes after their much-anticipated meeting to discuss a possible resumption of talks.“As of now, there is no agreement on these items because the AMPTP said they needed to consult with their member studios before moving forward,” the union said in a statement recently.
This caused massive confusion and buzz amidst the fandom. We are currently nearing the end of three months of the strike, and no bouts of development or simmering down have been reported. However, we have come across a recent announcement sharing a possible retreat from the indefinite hiatus situation caused by the strike.
Hollywood’s striking writers and major studios have agreed to hold talks on Friday for the first time since their strike began over higher pay demands in May 2023. “We’ll be back in communication with you sometime after the meeting with further information,” the committee told its members in its note. Though it seems like good news, that doesn’t mean that the chance of the series being delayed further is still on the table if the strikes gain more momentum and don’t reach a resolution within the next few weeks, especially after the meeting.
Hence, until the strike dies down, we cannot expect a solid release date.
Chicago Fire Season 12 Expected Release Date
It is confirmed. Firehouse 51 will continue its bravery in putting out fires all over Illinois and Chicago with its stellar firefighters with whom we have developed a close personal relationship over the course of 11 seasons. Therefore, the official network has been forced to make amends to their earlier revised fall schedule, and they did. However, it does not contain Chicago Fire Season 12 anymore, as opposed to earlier. Following the definitive trajectory of its other competitive networks, NBC will propel its fall schedule gems to a 2024 mid-season launch (January, February, March, and April).
Chicago Fire Season 12 Reruns: Is It New Tonight?
The filming of the series might take a while to resume the completion of scripts and filming of the episodes, just like many other original NBC series, which have also stopped their work due to a lack of writers and actors, leading to a major delay in the official production for the three One Chicago series, which is speculated to commence sometime later this year as the negotiations are still bound to happen in the coming weeks!
The new seasons will start airing at the same time slot every Wednesday, starting at 8 p.m. and concluding at 10 p.m., in order to avoid any further disruption caused by the dual strikes and disclose new details in the near future.
The only thing that has been confirmed so far is that on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, at 8 p.m., the NBC network will start premiering reruns of Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D. in order to fill up the empty slots in the fall primetime schedule that are filled with previous shows reruns directly caused by the ongoing 2023 WGA and 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes! So no, Chicago Fire Season 12 is not new tonight, but reruns will be shown instead. NBC finally followed suit on July 19th and updated its 2023 fall lineup.
We’re heading back to Firehouse 51 this fall! Another season of #OneChicago is coming soon to @NBC and streaming on @Peacock. #ChicagoFire
— Tony Ferraris (@squad2tony) April 10, 2023
Adding to its renewal, Dick Wolf stated,
“I’m pleased to continue my four-decade relationship with Universal Television and NBC, all six shows being picked up again is the ultimate accolade to our incredible casts, producers, and writers. I’d also like to thank our loyal fans who have kept our NBC shows on the air for what will be a cumulative 84 seasons.”
On the bright side, Deadline has confirmed that the studios’ CEOs are planning to meet on Friday to discuss where things now stand in order to hammer out a deal to end the ongoing strikes! We are hoping that ample bouts of development are a result of this meeting, or else if the strike continues longer, it will hamper the economy of the entertainment business!
All clues have also hinted at a shorter season, given the negligible time window for release. This was confirmed by NBC Chicago when they speculated,
“Scripted series, like Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, and Chicago Med, will take longer to be affected but could be impacted as well. They could be forced to cut seasons short or delay filming altogether.”
So we urge fans to sit it out and avoid further speculation into the matter. We will do the job of consistently informing you about the developments as we receive them.
Chicago Fire Season 12 Plot: What Can We Expect In The New Season?
*Spoilers*
The Chicago Fire series has captivated fans of the One Chicago universe since its inception in 2013. Firehouse 51 has given us high highs and low lows when it comes to the storylines it delves into each season. Also, if you have noticed, the storylines and cases get more and more deep and intriguing season after season. After 11 seasons of hundreds of fire rescues, untimely deaths, and jam-packed action sequences, Chicago: Fire still doesn’t fail to entice its audience.
We are expecting the same level of adrenaline-rushed fire saves, if not higher, from our Firehouse 51 in Season 12. Given the massive cliffhangers we were left with in Chicago: Fire Season 11 finale, Season 12 should cover the basic idea of the entire series, which revolves around: “As the firefighters, rescue squad, and paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51 forge headfirst into danger, the choices they make can mean the difference between life and death.
But from the relentless pressure of saving lives, an extended family is forged. Led by Chief Wallace Boden, Matthew Casey, Kelly Severide, and the others know — when it’s gone time, Firehouse 51 lays it all on the line for each other. This high-octane drama from Executive Producer Dick Wolf offers an edge-of-your-seat view into the lives of everyday heroes committed to one of America’s noblest professions.”
Chicago: Fire Season 12 is expected to continue where the Season 11 finale left off titled, ‘Red Waterfall,’ which reads ‘ Brett waits for life-changing news; Herrmann encounters a psychic with a grave warning on a call; Kidd finds a new lead on the Homeland Security case.’
Now that you may pick up a few hints on what took place in Season 11, these are some of the possible plotlines that Season 12 can explore:
Mouch getting shot while on duty
It is not an easy task to be a firefighter. Especially when you can get easily killed while trying to save lives. You never know in which corners the evil lurks. The season 11 finale of the Chicago fire witnessed Mouch on a dangerous operation where he was blatantly shot. He did survive till he was wheeled to the ER. However, we were struck with terror when we watched him start to bleed out, and that was it. We surely do not know whether he survived that scare or not because we were left in the middle without definitive answers.
Our biggest cliffhanger from the Season 11 finale is Mouch getting shot on duty. It broke us! What is the aftermath of this heinous crime? How will the team cope? We need answers!
Sylvie got to adopt a baby
Matt and Sylvie still had hearts in their eyes when they saw each other again, but both confessed to dating other people, but only one was telling the truth. Sylvie was seeing Dylan (Christopher Allen), but his insecurity got the best of him in the finale over Matt being back in town. Too bad, so sad, but it’s better for Sylvie in the end, who is entering a beautiful new phase in her life.
It was revealed in tonight’s episode that Sylvie is adopting a baby girl, and she is absolutely over the moon. Riding on that high, Matt is inspired to make a major move—he gets on one knee and presents his lady love with a diamond ring he says he purchased some time ago. Sylvie is taken by surprise, and the screen goes dark before she gives him an answer.
This is something that warmed our hearts to witness. Season 12 can show us montages of the connection between Sylvie and her baby and how she manages a work-life balance with a tedious and demanding job working at Firehouse 51.
Casey returns and proposes to Brett
Casey has finally returned and has gathered the courage to propose to Brett in marriage. The proposal was a heart-warming gesture on the part of Cassie, who gets down on one knee to propose to Brett right at the doorstep of where they shared their first kiss. The finale left us with a few questions. One of those was whether Brett would say yes to Casey or not. He got down on one knee, and it’s clear that Brett still has feelings for him, but we didn’t hear an answer.
What events will go down for the two? Will they make it? Or does fate have something else in store for them? We will find out soon.
Severide and Kidd are in the throes of separation
After a long time of being together, their ego got the better of them, and now they are witnessing their marriage crumble in front of them, and they are unable to find an ‘off-switch’ to this issue. With both partners working for Firehouse 51, their fireman duties are a tad intense for them to come home to a perfect married life.
Another bane in their married life was a lack of kids. After Firehouse 51 responded to a domestic dispute that involved a mom and a daughter violently fighting, Kidd personally looked after the minor who was struggling with her dad’s death. While his wife was totally involved, however, Severide wasn’t.
Although he wasn’t exactly apathetic, showing Kidd support and encouraging the teenager to reconcile with her mom, it’s a sign that the couple just isn’t on the same page yet when it comes to other responsibilities beyond their commitment to each other and their work. Hence, their disputes and varied opinions on marital life can lead them to a potential separation in the future episodes of Chicago Fire Season 12. Will we see them succumb to a divorce? Or will they give in one last fight and overcome their marital issues once and for all? Let’s see what fate (or, in this case, Season 12) has in store for the two.
Who will reprise their roles in the series?
The main cast members who are still speculated to return in the new season are as follows:
- David Eigenberg as Lieutenant Christopher Herrmann
- Joe Miñoso as Firefighter Joe Cruz
- Miranda Rae Mayo as Lieutenant Stella Kidd
- Alberto Rosende as Firefighter Blake Gallo
- Daniel Kyri as Firefighter Darren Ritter
- Hanako Greensmith as Paramedic Violet Mikami
- Eamonn Walker as Deputy District Chief Wallace Boden
However, there may be a potential cast shake-up given that One Chicago producers Universal Television and Dick Wolf’s studio-based Wolf Entertainment are also cutting talent expenditures. Viewers eagerly hope it is not one of their favorite characters who will get the boot! In the event of further speculation in this matter, we will update this space, so keep a close eye on it.
Chicago Fire Season 12 Streamer Options: Where to Watch
In any case, the show reruns will air on the official NBC network from Wednesday onwards, October 4th, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. If you don’t want to be stuck in the loop of a weekly screening, you can access all the earlier seasons of Chicago: Fire on the following platforms:
- NBC (in the US)
- Sky Witness (in the UK)
- Peacock
- FuboTV
- Hulu Plus
- Amazon Instant Video (rent)
- Vudu (rent)
Stay tuned for more updates on Chicago: Fire Season 12. We are curious. Which gang would you like to join, Med, P.D., or Fire? Let us know in the comment section below.