NBC’s fall is off to a blazing start and One Chicago is fanning the flames. While the network touts early wins across its schedule, the biggest momentum story is on Peacock, where all three One Chicago series posted year-over-year gains out of the gate: Chicago Med up 21%, Chicago Fire up 13%, and Chicago P.D. up 11%.
For a franchise built on city grit and ensemble chemistry, the streaming surge underscores how sticky these shows are with fans who binge on-demand and then show up live for the big moments.
On broadcast, NBC’s procedural backbone remains sturdy. Law & Order returned with 6 million cross-platform viewers for its Season 25 premiere and Law & Order: SVU drew 7.6 million for Season 27—both growing again in week two—while also notching their best streaming performances ever (up 56% and 46% year over year, respectively). But here in Chicago, the hometown headline is clear: the Med/Fire/P.D. ecosystem continues to be one of TV’s most reliable engines, feeding Peacock, lifting linear nights, and fueling fan communities between episodes.
Sports are doing their part, Sunday Night Football led week one, and NBC’s unscripted pillars (The Voice, America’s Got Talent) are holding court. A new entry, On Brand with Jimmy Fallon, opened to 5.5 million viewers across NBC and Peacock through two episodes. Stack it all together and the network stakes a strong early claim to the season, notching a seventh straight year pacing ahead of rivals in the first seven-day window.
For Chicago’s production community, the takeaway is more than bragging rights. One Chicago’s continued growth means steady jobs, full stages, and a national spotlight on the city’s crews and locations just as other broadcasters roll out their scripted slates.
CBS is about to unleash its own procedural barrage. Still, for now, the Windy City is setting the tone, ER drama, firehouse heroics, and midnight warrants are propelling Peacock queues and prime-time lineups alike. As premieres settle in and storylines heat up, One Chicago once again looks like NBC’s heart, lungs, and backbone.
ALSO READ:
Chicago Fire Season 14 premiere: Kidd, Severide face new chapter
