‘Chicago Fire’ adds another episode to season order

Early on this season, it’s looking more and more like some critics were a little to eager to write “Chicago Fire” off. It had a title that was a little too obvious for many, and there were also plenty of questions as to whether or not executive producer Dick Wolf could really do for fireman what he did for the legal system in “Law & Order.”

However, over the past few weeks this fire has started to burn bright. The episodes have not only grown stronger, Taylor Kinney is becoming a bona fide TV star and the ratings have steadily improved. The show drew a series high in the 18-49 demographic for an episode airing earlier this month, and with that in mind it should come as no surprise that Deadline is reporting that NBC has made the decision to give the show an extra episode this season. Now, it will wrap up with 23 hour-long installments rather than 22, which is pretty great for a series that did not even premiere until October.

For those of you who like to read into these sort of announcements as a sign of hope for the future, it is certainly understandable to take from this that the Peacock would probably renew the show for a season 2 if they had to make a decision today. While the series still has some tough weeks ahead against some heavy competition, it also has going for it the fact that NBC is very lacking in the drama series department. Save for “Revolution” and “Grimm,” there’s no other drama on the schedule that is a lock to return next season. “Parenthood” and “Smash” are both on the bubble at the moment in our mind, and it would not come as a shock to us at all if “Law & Order: SVU”

Are you thrilled for more “Chicago Fire”? Be sure to watch Wednesday night, as there is going to be a big episode coming your way then. If you want to check out some more ratings news for the show, you can do so here.

Photo: NBC