What The End of WGA Strike Actually Means for Chicago PD?
The new episodes are still not likely to arrive in 2023.
Things are looking up for TV fans. The WGA strike has ended after 148 days, with the union winning better pay and conditions for its members, and now writers are beginning to return to work on fan-favorite shows like NBC's Chicago P.D.
The hit police procedural, which revolves around the personnel and cases of the 21st District of the Chicago Police Department, has been on the air since 2014 and has never failed to deliver an annual season. Until this fall.
If things were going the usual way, Chicago P.D. would be premiering Season 11, which was announced back in April, around this time, the last week of September. However, due to the Hollywood strikes, fans are left nostalgically bingeing the previous seasons and waiting to catch up with the beloved characters as soon as possible.
When will Season 11 debut?
Chin up, fellow Chicago P.D. fans. Now that the writers' strike is over, we can expect that work on Season 11 will begin right away. However, the premiere is unlikely to come before 2024.
The full production cycle for a 22-episode season of Chicago P.D. takes about 10 months of hard work. While the cast and crew can continue working while the season is already on the air, they begin the process several months before the usual fall premiere.
Filming for Season 11 was reportedly scheduled to begin in July 2023, and writing even before that. But both were interrupted by the strikes. Now that the writers can pick up the season, it will take them at least a few weeks to come up with new compelling scripts, even if Season 11 is shortened.
On top of that, they can't start shooting new episodes while the actors are still on strike. Of course, things seem to be moving between the major studios and the unions, so it is very likely that the SAG-AFTRA demands will be met soon and the cast will be ready to jump into production for the season.
But even if there are no further delays, the new season will still take several months to produce, so we are likely looking at a spring 2024 premiere. How do you feel about this?
Source: Screen Magazine.