The FBI and One Chicago franchises are still on hold, but there have been lots of developments this week. The writers rooms for both franchises have opened back up, Andrea Newman has been named sole showrunner of Chicago Fire, and Matt Olmstead, the former Chicago PD showrunner, has taken over FBI: International.
Big changes, considering the crucial role that showrunners play in the direction and overall success of a given show. Given how much overlap there is between the showrunners for both franchises, we thought it’d be worth floating the possibility of an FBI and One Chicago crossover in 2024.It makes a lot of sense on paper. The franchises have already crossed over once, before, when Chicago PD’s Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) made an unexpected appearances during the FBI season 2 finale. It established that both franchises were set in the same universe, and opened countless possibilities for future storylines.
Fittingly, the decision to intermingle the two shows came from FBI showrunner Rick Eid, who cut his teeth as a showrunner on Chicago PD for several years before moving over. This means two thirds of the current FBI showrunners previously worked for One Chicago, and given that FBI: International is still looking for a showrunners, there’s a chance it could be all three eventually.
Can we use the word “showrunner” any more?We digress. The point is that the two shows share personnel, and the 2024 season will be looking for storylines that will captivate fans and bring them back after months of delays and strikes. The crossover card always works, and we’re long overdue, whether than be within One Chicago or the FBI shows. Dick Wolf, the creator of both franchises, has been trying to get all the pieces together since COVID-19 squashed the possibility of doing a crossover in 2020.Derek Haas, former Chicago Fire showrunner, told TV Insider that Wolf was clamoring for some cameos and shared storylines as soon as possible. “If Dick Wolf has his way, the chances are 100 percent”, he told the outlet. “But we haven’t actually [solved] the medical restrictions that we need to to have that many cast members interacting with other shows’ cast members.”
That interview was given last year, so we can only hope that things have progressed since then, and the cards fall into place for some exciting developments in 2024.