Chicago Fire MIA: Why Season 12 Won't Be Returning to NBC This Fall

2023 has proven a challenging time for the film and television industry. WGA members have been on strike for three months, and they have now been joined by SAG-AFTRA, all because the studios and streaming services represented by the AMPTP don't want to meet the demands the two unions view as non-negotiable.

And now, it would appear that the main series of Dick Wolf's One Chicago franchise — Chicago Fire — is the latest victim. We delve into why the show's been postponed and speculate about when filming might resume.

Summer is typically when filming is in full swing. However, this summer has been different, as the writers' strike that began in May has resulted in an acute shortage of completed scripts. While scripts for some shows had been completed before the strike, when actors joined in the action, even shows with completed scripts had to suspend filming.

That's the case with NBC's Chicago Fire. The show about the professional and personal drama of the firefighters and paramedics at fictional Firehouse 51 has released new seasons in the fall for 11 years. But now that the script for the new season isn't finished and the actors are on strike as well, the network had no choice but to put filming on hold indefinitely.

The question everyone wants to know the answer to now is when things might get back to normal. Many people doubt if the WGA and SAG strikes will end by the fall as the AMPTP is not even considering reopening negotiations, and members of both unions have no intention of backing down as the working conditions and pay for writers and actors in the industry have become unacceptable.

So even in the best-case scenario, the earliest we can hope to see the new season of Chicago Fire would be in January 2024. The problem is this best-case scenario is getting less and less likely with every passing day, seeing how even if the strikes end before the end of this year, it's still going to take time to finish the script, film and post-produce the new season. Furthermore, NBC may decide they may as well stick to the original schedule and move Chicago Fire Season 12's premier to the fall of 2024.

All we can do until then is revisit the old seasons of our favourite show: NBC plans to be airing classic Chicago Fire episodes in the forced intermission.