Summary

• The One Chicago franchise is a collection of television series created by Dick Wolf, which all take place in the same universe and often have connections between them. Here are some of the connections between the shows:
• Chicago Fire and Chicago PD: These two shows have the most direct connections, as they both focus on the city's fire and police departments, respectively. The characters often work together when necessary, and there have been several crossovers between the two series.
• Chicago Med: This medical drama has connections to both Chicago Fire and Chicago PD, as some of the characters have relationships or past connections with those in the other shows. For example, Jay Halstead's brother, Will, was a lead doctor on Med for its first eight seasons.

The update for Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 includes its move to Peacock rather than airing as part of the Thursday night block.

One Chicago consists of three shows that have each aired for at least a decade, although they have been plagued with cast turnover issues and Chicago Med season 10 recently confirmed several returning cast . It is the only one of Wolf’s three franchises that doesn’t focus exclusively on police procedurals, as Chicago Med is a medical drama and Chicago Fire focuses on firefighters rather than cops. Although most of Wolf’s other series are set in New York instead of Chicago, all current Dick Wolf shows are set in the same universe, and some shows have featured crossover appearances.

10 Chicago Fire

The Oldest One Chicago Show Led to The Entire Franchise

Chicago Fire is the oldest of the three One Chicago shows, so there would be no franchise without it. It premiered in 2012 to solid ratings, which have remained virtually unchanged over twelve seasons. Its popularity led to the creation of the first spinoff, Chicago PD, the following year, and Chicago Med followed in 2015. It also set the tone for the One Chicago brand by blending procedural storylines with stories about the main characters’ personal lives.

Although it is set in Chicago rather than New York, the Chicago Fire crew have been involved in crossover stories with Law & Order: SVU twice. Both of these stories began with fires in Chicago that uncovered evidence of sex crimes in New York, which brought Benson and the rest of her team in to catch the perpetrator. Chicago Fire has also crossed over with its sister shows in the One Chicago franchise on ten separate occasions, although it has not done so since 2019.

9 Chicago PD

Hank Voight Appeared on Chicago Fire First

Chicago PD is unique among police procedurals because it features an anti-hero who often crosses moral lines and engages in police brutality for the greater good. Sergeant Hank Voight originally appeared on Chicago Fire as an antagonist—a dirty cop who attempted to have Casey silenced when Casey fingered Voight’s son for causing an accident that paralyzed a teenager while drunk. Voight was arrested for his part in this scandal, but was later reinstated as the head of the Intelligence Unit, making for tense relations between the police and fire departments on the two shows.

The police and fire departments work together when necessary despite the rough start. Voight also softened somewhat in later seasons, which has helped improve relations between him and Chief Bowden. With Bowden exiting Chicago Fire, there is an open question of how the new chief will navigate the relationship with Voight. Voight still engages in questionable behavior when he feels the circumstances warrant it, so the new chief will have to decide whether it's worth making an enemy out of him.

8 Chicago Med

The Medical Drama Originally Centered on Jay Halstead’s Rebellious Brother

Chicago Med originally had an extremely close connection. Will Halstead, who was the lead doctor on Med for its first eight seasons, was introduced as Detective Jay Halstead’s brother. Jay was supposed to be the more levelheaded of the two, while Will often did impulsive things in the name of helping patients and got himself into trouble. Will was nearly fired for breaking rules twice and resigned after he deliberately sabotaged OR 2.0 to prove that the machine was unsafe to use during surgery.

Ironically, neither Halstead brother is part of their respective show anymore, with Jay leaving Chicago PD after season 10 and Will leaving Chicago Med after season 8.

The Halstead brothers sometimes worked together, most notably during Chicago Med season 4, when Will was working undercover to help the police catch a mob boss. During this season-long arc, Will provided medical care to the target while secretly funneling information to Jay, but felt bad about it and kept trying to get out of their arrangement. The storyline ended after Will’s wedding to Natalie was derailed by his life being in danger.

7 Chicago Justice

After Its Cancellation, The Lead Attorney Headed to New York

Chicago Justice is less well-known than the other Chicago shows because it only lasted one season. This series starred Philip Winchester as an idealistic state's attorney, Peter Stone, who was unaware of the bias the criminal justice system often had against people of color. He was often surprised when guilt or innocence weren’t the driving factors in cases and had to question his moral standards when situations were less clear-cut than he believed.

Chicago PD's Alvin Olinsky appeared in one episode of Chicago Justice.

Dick Wolf often reuses last names in his various works, but the name “Stone” was not a coincidence. After Chicago Justice was canceled, Stone traveled to New York and worked as an ADA on Law & Order: SVU for a season, during which his backstory became prominent. Stone’s late father was Benjamin Stone, who had been the ADA during the first three seasons of the original Law & Order, and Peter always felt like he couldn’t measure up to his well-known father.

6 Law & Order: SVU

There Are Several Connections To Chicago PD

On the surface, Law & Order: SVU and Chicago PD seem to be polar opposites. Olivia Benson has always been depicted as highly moral. She goes the extra mile to help victims put their lives back together, but she doesn’t blatant rulebreaking or mistreatment of suspects. However, she and Hank Voight were attracted to one another while working together and considered a long-distance relationship afterward. SVU has worked with Chicago PD on several occasions, and a young woman who ed Voight’s unit after living on the streets was killed by a serial murderer wanted both by PD and SVU.

Benson’s interest in Voight isn’t as surprising as it seems, considering the will-they-won’t-they nature of her relationship with Elliot Stabler. Stabler is also a hothead prone to getting physical with suspects, though he is not as amoral as Voight tends to be. Benson also had a relationship with Chicago Justice’s Peter Stone that ended when he realized his feelings for her could interfere with his objectivity and left his position.

5 Law & Order: Organized Crime

The Similar Cases Are Not The Only Connection

Law & Order: Organized Crime stars former SVU detective Elliot Stabler as the lead detective in the Organized Crime Bureau. This unit is similar to Voight’s Intelligence Unit, as it focuses on mob bosses, gang leaders, and other heads of criminal organizations. However, this series has not yet had any crossovers with Chicago PD, and Stabler was not in New York when Benson worked with, and fell for, Hank Voight.

Stabler and Voight are similar characters, so it’s easy to think of this series as the New York parallel to Chicago PD, especially considering that Stabler and Voight might be romantic rivals if they ever met. The two series are technically connected even though Stabler and Voight have not yet interacted; Stabler started out on SVU, which was established to be in the same universe as the Chicago shows more than half a decade ago.

4 Law & Order

S. Epatha Merkerson is Best Known As Anita Van Buren

The original Law & Order was on a ten-year hiatus when Chicago PD crossed over with Law & Order: SVU. However, it has a strong connection to the One Chicago franchise because of Peter Stone. Additionally, it shares an actress with Chicago Med. S. Epatha Merkerson played Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on Law & Order in the 1990s and now plays Sharon Goodwin on Chicago Med.

Two of the FBI shows also currently have actors from other Dick Wolf shows playing the heads of teams.

The two characters are completely different. Van Buren was a no-nonsense head of the homicide unit while Goodwin is a former nurse turned hospital who is constantly settling disputes between doctors. Thus, it’s unlikely that any of the characters would notice the resemblance if there were a crossover between Law & Order and Chicago Med. However, Merkerson was so associated with the 1990s version of Law & Order that there was widespread speculation she would leave Med to return to it when NBC first announced that it was bringing Law & Order back.

3 FBI

This Connection Makes Her Exit from Chicago PD Make Sense

While the FBI franchise is set in New York and deals with federal rather than state crimes, it has the most direct connection to the One Chicago franchise of any non-Chicago show. Hailey Upton once came to New York on loan from PD to help work a case. The FBI team was investigating a case involving a drug deal gone bad, which is the Intelligence Unit’s wheelhouse. Thus, Upton was a logical choice to travel to New York to assist in catching the masterminds behind the crime.

As with Benson/Voight, Upton clashed with the FBI team because they expected her to stick only to legal methods of getting the suspects behind bars. However, this crossover opened the door for future guest appearances, especially now that Chicago PD's Hailey Upton has left the series ahead of season 12. She decided she wanted a more fulfilling job and was last seen checking out job listings with the FBI and DEA, so she could work with the FBI team in future episodes if the storyline calls for it and the actress is willing to do another guest appearance.

2 FBI: Most Wanted

Dylan McDermott Makes Crossovers Hard, But Not Impossible

The FBI franchise is connected to One Chicago via Upton, but FBI: Most Wanted has an interesting and ironic behind-the-scenes connection: Dylan McDermott. McDermott played supervillain Richard Wheatley during the first two seasons of Law & Order: Organized Crime. However, after Julian McMahon's exit from FBI: Most Wanted, McDermott moved over to that show to play the new head of FBI: Most Wanted's Fugitive Task Force, Remy Scott. Wheatley is presumed dead after a car explosion, but nobody was ever found, thus potentially making him the type of dangerous fugitive that Scott’s team brings to justice.

It’s unlikely that there would be a crossover appearance involving the capture of Richard Wheatley because McDermott would have to play a dual role. However, the two series are set in the same universe, so if Wheatley is still alive, Scott has an evil doppelgänger somewhere. Even if Wheatley were not involved, it would be natural for this series to crossover with Law & Order: Organized Crime since they are set in the same universe and investigate similar types of crimes.

1 FBI: International

Jesse Lee Soffer Won’t Be Playing The Same Character, But The Connection Still Remains

FBI: International is different from the other FBI shows because it is set in Europe and involves international crimes that affect Americans. So far, there have been no direct connections between this series and the One Chicago shows. However, as of 2024, it is the third Dick Wolf series to use one actor for two different roles in the same universe, as formerJesse Lee Soffer is ing FBI: International's season 4 cast.

Chicago Med alum Colin Donnell guest starred on the final two episodes of FBI: International and was widely speculated to be the new lead before Soffer was announced.

Soffer will not be playing Jay Halstead. However, One Chicago has already established that FBI: International is set in the same universe as Chicago PD, so this will be another case of a character having a dopplegänger. There is little reason for this to come up, considering how different the two shows are, but is another example of how all of DIck Wolf’s scripted shows are connected both on-screen and behind the scenes. Additionally, if Upton ever works with FBi: International, she would come face-to-face with a different character who looks and sounds like her ex-husband.