The Breakdown: NBC Wednesday in 2024-25 (Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD)

It's time for a journey through the NBC Wednesday schedule in 2024-25...


fall

Year	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30	Avg
2023-24	Quantum Leap		Quantum Leap	Magnum P.I.		Magnum P.I.	Chicago Fire (R)		Chicago Fire (R)	65
	2023-24	76		76	67		67	51			51	65
2024-25	Chicago Med		Chicago Med	Chicago Fire		Chicago Fire	Chicago PD		Chicago PD	117 (+81%)
	2024-25	122 (+60%)		122 (+83%)	122 (+83%)		122 (+83%)	107 (+111%)			107 (+111%)	117.368663403731
VsAvg	+40%		0.402348218458775	+14%		0.141326816292477	+2%		0.0153683785141973	+17%
Rank	5/26		5/26	8/26		8/26	12/26		12/26	8/26

With the Chicago trio back in the fall, NBC got a big year-to-year improvement, but it was the weakest ratings for these shows in the fall since they came together in 2018.

winter

Year	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30	Avg
2023-24	Chicago Med		Chicago Med	Chicago Fire		Chicago Fire	Chicago PD		Chicago PD	138
	2023-24	139		139	142		142	133			133	138
2024-25	Chicago Med		Chicago Med	Chicago Fire		Chicago Fire	Chicago PD		Chicago PD	126 (-9%)
	2024-25	134 (-4%)		133.910555561304	126 (-12%)		126 (-12%)	118 (-11%)			118 (-11%)	125.933437498922
VsAvg	+48%		0.483321711138099	+20%		0.195700951447528	+2%		0.0239617570254965	+22%
Rank	7/26		7/26	9/26		9/26	13/26		13/26	9/26

Once they started getting compared against themselves, the Chicago shows looked noticeably weaker compared with their season-opening ratings in early 2024.

spring

Year	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30	Avg
2023-24	Chicago Med		Chicago Med	Chicago Fire		Chicago Fire	Chicago PD		Chicago PD	114
	2023-24	114		114	118		118	110			110	114
2024-25	Chicago Med		Chicago Med	Chicago Fire		Chicago Fire	Chicago PD		Chicago PD	111 (-2%)
	2024-25	113 (-1%)		112.529878622945	115 (-2%)		115 (-2%)	106 (-4%)			106 (-4%)	111.329559917633
VsAvg	+42%		0.424115459337987	+21%		0.21141142818123	-4%		-0.039264508234669	+17%
Rank	5/26		5/26	8/26		8/26	12/26		12/26	8/26

The declines were a good bit narrower in the spring, which was probably the most apples-to-apples period since it didn't include season premieres a year ago, but all three shows remained on the downside.

Rating the Ratings (about grades)

Name	Lo	Avg	Hi	y2y	Plus	Label	Plusy2y	Results
Chicago Med*	0.3	0.39	0.5	-18%	123	solid	-2%	detail
Chicago Fire*	0.3	0.39	0.5	-21%	122	solid	-5%	detail
Chicago PD*	0.3	0.35	0.5	-24%	110	solid	-9%	detail

Chicago Med: All three Chicago shows set new lows in the One Chicago Era, dropping a bit behind the first year they were together in 2018-19. For Med and Fire, it was also the end of a six-year streak with the hit label or better. However, those two shows also slowed the bleeding a bit from the last two years, when Med was down -7%/-6% and Fire -8%/-10%. Maybe Med could eke out a B- but I'm assuming that as an 8/7c show it had the most benefit from returning to the fall. Grade: C+.

Chicago Fire: First time in the One Chicago era that Fire finished behind Med in same-day average, though we're talking about very thin margins here. Grade: C+.

Chicago PD: 110 Plus is still extremely good for a 10/9c scripted show but the rate of decline was just high enough to sway me down to Grade: C here. Unlike the other two shows, it didn't slow the high-single digit declines of the last two years.

The names in this last table link to the shows' War of 18-49 pages. Links with an asterisk(*) have been updated with the new info. Updates to younger shows will come later in the summer.

Previous Breakdowns for NBC Wednesday: 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24

Here's the now updated Schedules Plus for NBC Wednesday.