The 2025 TV schedule lastly delivered what One Chicago followers have been ready for since 2019: a three-part, three-show crossover. The “Within the Trenches” occasion was arguably essentially the most cohesive crossover of the franchise to the date, and I actually see why the showrunners had been all in on the Avengers: Endgame comparability after one star’s remark. Now, the scores are in for a way many individuals tuned in dwell, and the totals have me pondering again to how the chief producers hyped “Within the Trenches” forward of time.
How Many One Chicago Followers Tuned In
The crossover aired on Wednesday, January 29, beginning with Chicago Hearth at 8 p.m. ET, persevering with with Chicago Med at 9 p.m. ET, and wrapping with Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. Like what occurred with the “An infection” occasion of 2019, the crossover switched Hearth and Med‘s time slots. Whereas that did not really matter all that a lot in a fairly cohesive three-hour occasion, it does add a little bit of a twist to wanting on the scores information.
In line with TVLine within the Dwell+Identical day totals (a.okay.a. the quantity of people that watched on the day that it aired), this is how the scores performed out in the important thing 18-49 age demographic:
- Chicago Hearth: 6.3 million viewers/0.5 demo score
- Chicago Med: 6.6 million viewers/0.5 demo score
- Chicago P.D.: 6.4 million viewers/0.5 demo score
For each Chicago Hearth and Chicago P.D., these viewership and scores marked season highs. For Med, 6.6 million was its season excessive in viewership whereas 0.5 was a tie within the scores. With how the medical drama has been catching as much as Hearth within the 2024-2025 TV season scores, I am unable to assist however surprise: did the Med hour earn the best numbers as a result of it is Med, as a result of it occurred to be smack dab in the midst of a three-parter, or as a result of One Chicago followers had been anticipating Hearth at 9 p.m.?
There isn’t any means of claiming for positive, however I do all the time take pleasure in when the scores are constant throughout all of the reveals. In fact, these are simply the Dwell+Identical day totals. The numbers might shift as soon as Dwell+3 day and Dwell+7 day will be totaled for individuals who watch on a delay or streaming with a Peacock subscription, however as of now, it seems to be like loads of followers actually did tune in to observe it just like the three-hour film that the showrunners hyped beforehand.
How The Showrunners Felt After Watching It
I used to be lucky sufficient to talk with the showrunners for all three One Chicago reveals forward of the occasion, and so they had been all fairly excited that followers had been lastly going to get to see the occasion. I hadn’t considered it myself on the time, so I questioned: what had been their reactions as govt producers once they bought to observe the completed product? Allen MacDonald, at the moment in his first season as showrunner of Chicago Med, shared:
It is fairly thrilling. It is a large film, and it is simply performed as one runs proper into the opposite.
The Med boss elaborated on his ideas on watching the occasion after studying that Steven Weber had made the Avengers: Endgame comparability, hyping “hero pictures” on the best way. He went on:
Properly, you have spent months studying the scripts and the totally different drafts of the scripts and seeing the way it adjustments. And what’s sort of magical whenever you watch all of it collectively is you assume you are going to have that each one in your head, however at the least my mind simply releases every little thing that got here earlier than. As a result of when it is visualized and on display with all of the actors and all of the stunts, you simply get caught up in it as a watcher, as a fan, and it is very, very satisfying and suspenseful and, most significantly for me, emotional… There’s some fairly heavy stuff that occurs within the three hours. It is a storyline that goes by way of all three hours.
I spoke with Chicago Hearth boss Andrea Newman shortly after the dialog with Med‘s Allen MacDonald. She weighed in on what hit her emotionally after watching it, starting from some basic soar scares to telling first responder tales as wildfires had been devastating Los Angeles. She shared:
My coronary heart was racing. I used to be so excited and thrilled all through, as a result of, as a lot as I had seen the scripts, with regards to life in that means, whenever you flip a nook, you are still like, ‘Oh god!’ There’s nonetheless soar scares. [laughs] And there is quite a lot of emotion for it too, as a result of in LA, we have been going by way of these fires and seeing these firefighters getting on the market as they all the time do, placing their lives on the road to avoid wasting individuals and property… There’s quite a lot of emotion in seeing these [One Chicago] firefighters happening into the bottom, underground, and placing their lives on the road to avoid wasting the people who find themselves trapped under floor on this episode. They all the time put their very own effectively being behind and cost into the fires to avoid wasting individuals.
After I subsequent spoke with Chicago P.D. showrunner Gwen Sigan, she hyped the completed product whereas additionally crediting all of the arduous work that went into making the crossover occur behind the scenes. She stated:
My knee jerk response was simply proud that we did it, that it seems to be nearly as good because it does, that it feels cohesive. I believe all through it, you’ve gotten characters from all three reveals getting these very nice moments, these form of standout moments for them, and that you simply’re on an emotional trip. You are on a trip with them, and I believed that our solid carried it very well all through. They had been capable of tempo their feelings all through the three hours. It is arduous to do, particularly whenever you’re taking pictures the primary hour, then the third hour, then the second hour. [laughs] You are simply hopping round units, and so the truth that they had been every ready to do this very effectively, and that all of them got here collectively – it is a feat. It is arduous to do this stuff, and I believe everybody actually pulled their weight, and it reveals.
So, how did followers’ viewing experiences examine with these of the showrunners after they watched the crossover for the primary time? We won’t say for positive, however I do know I will be keeping track of the scores for the following batch of episodes on February 5, with Chicago Med again in its ordinary 8 p.m. ET time slot, adopted by Chicago Hearth at 9 p.m. ET, after which ending with Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.
Even when the reveals are again to enterprise as ordinary with out epic Avengers-esque crossover motion, it’s going to be fascinating to see if followers had been hooked into One Chicago a lot that season-high numbers proceed. Not one of the One Chicago reveals have been renewed for the 2025-2026 TV season simply but.