Its hard to beat Chicago Fire when it comes to basic, binge-able procedural dramas. Over a whopping 12 seasons so far, the series has maintained high praise from viewers, and its headed into even more with its eventual 13th season.
First, however, it has to polish off season 12, which started airing on Jan. 17, 2024. The season should be well underway by now, but its experienced a halting release schedule misaligned with previous seasons. That’s due to 2023’s WGA and SAG strikes, which delayed filming and forced the series to approach its 12th season a little different. As such, the season has been on hiatus since early April, and fans are eagerly anticipating its return to the air.
When will Chicago Fire air the rest of season 12?
Chicago Fire is a bare few episodes away from celebrating 250 episodes in total, over more than a decade on the air. It will pass the landmark episode count in May of 2024, after the show’s 12th season resumes over on NBC.
Typical seasons of Chicago Fire air like any other show — weekly, with occasional gaps to make space for timely or pre-planned alternate programming — but season 12 is shifting its approach in response to delays prompted by last year’s dual Hollywood strikes. As a result, the season aired its first four episodes on the typical schedule before shifting to a halting release schedule that included occasional reruns mixed in with fresh episodes.
The series hasn’t aired a new season 12 episode since early April, but fans will get their chance to enjoy episode 10 — titled “The Wrong Guy” — on May 1, when its currently scheduled to arrive on NBC. Fans should expect a shorter-than usual season this year, due to the strikes, but the series is already renewed for season 13. Despite the disappointing hiccups prevalant across season 12, things should return to normal — minus a few fan-favorite stars — with the show’s eventual 13th season.
