Odds Are, Chicago Fire Won't Be Returning in September 2023
It looks like the brave firefighters will have to wait a little longer to reappear.
Dick Wolf's Chicago One franchise is one of the most popular projects on television right now, continuing to surprise fans by introducing new characters while skillfully developing older ones.
However, it looks like the upcoming Season 12 may not be returning to NBC in the foreseeable future — and that's not because of Taylor Kinney's sudden sabbatical from the show earlier this year.
With the Writers Guild of America strike still in full force, it's becoming clear that a vast number of fall shows will be postponed, as filming the projects without the writers on board is virtually impossible. Sadly, Chicago Fire Season 12 will likely suffer the same fate and have a later release, much to the dismay of millions of viewers who want to see the juicy Season 11 cliffhanger resolved.
All previous seasons of Chicago Fire began production in July, but it's highly unlikely that the show's crew will manage to stick to the schedule this year. While there's still hope that the WGA members will reach an agreement with producers and finish the strike, the odds are that the protests will continue all summer, destroying the prospects of seeing Chicago Fire and other primetime shows premiering this fall.
Even though there has been no official confirmation from either NBC or Dick Wolf, it looks like the network will opt to release Chicago Fire midseason instead of a fall season. For fans, this is a total bummer, of course, considering the sheer number of interesting cliffhangers left unresolved in the final episode of Season 11.
People want to see what Kidd will find out after leaving town to search for Severide, and the fact that Brett and Casey might reunite for good also leaves fans with no choice but to count down the days until the Season 12 premiere. Additionally, the fate of Mouch is hanging in the balance as fans fear that the beloved character may be killed off in the upcoming season.
With all due respect to the WGA and their demands, fans of the show still want to see Season 12 out as scheduled. Hopefully, the conflict will be resolved soon, allowing the Chicago Fire cast and crew to return to production in the shortest time possible.