Chicago Fire Season 9 finally hit the air Wednesday night, but we have some bad news.
Production has been halted for two weeks due to multiple positive COVID-19 tests, according to Deadline.
While details are scarce, the outlet is stating that members of the production team, believed to be in Zone 1, tested positive after bring tested as part of the strict safety protocols.
Contact tracing was carried out, and it’s believed the crew members were in close proximity to the cast and crew, leading to the shut down.
Fellow Chicago drama, Chicago Med was shut down earlier this season for two weeks due to positive tests associated with production.
While the Med shutdown was mitigated by production on the cuttent season commencing earlier than the other two shows.
Chicago Fire kicked off production on October 6, meaning that it’s likely there will be a break in the next few weeks to allow the series to get caught up.
This also presents an issue for the wider One Chicago universe. All three shows tend to be close in the storytelling department because of their setting.
They regularly stage crossovers, but it’s likely that crossovers will have been scaled back dramatically due to COVID-19.
Chicago is currently being ravaged by the latest wave of the virus, with health officials recently telling residents to work from home for three weeks and avoid anything but essential trips.
Production has been halted on several shows over the last few months, leading to big delays and networks with many holes in their schedules.
Still, networks are slowly, but surely getting back to normal … at least by airing episodes.
It’s clear the Chicago dramas are big for NBC, with all three drawing bumper ratings for the network.
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Remember you can watch Chicago Fire online right here via TV Fanatic.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.