Will Chicago Fire season 6 be hurt by long holiday hiatus?

For all fans of Chicago Fire, we are in the midst of what will be the longest hiatus of the entire sixth season. The fall finale aired on NBC at the start of the month, and unfortunately the next part of the season will not air until we roll around to the new year. The reason for the long wait is simple — NFL football — but the question at the heart of this CarterMatt article is a little more complicated.

Is this long hiatus setting up the NBC show for a dramatic slide in the ratings? This is the first time that Chicago Fire has been impacted by a hiatus like this. Remember, last year the series aired on Tuesday nights and was immune to the NFL taking over Thursdays. This year is an entirely different story and two months is enough time for some casual viewers to forget about a show.

If Chicago Fire was in its first season on the air, we’d be relatively worried about its future. Because we are not in this position however, we are a little bit more optimistic since this is a long-running show with devoted #ChiHards who will watch it no matter when it’s on the air. As a matter of fact, the hiatus may prove beneficial for a couple of different reasons.

1. No more NFL competition – For the six episodes in Chicago Fire was on the air this year, it was forced to compete directly against Thursday Night Football on CBS. Even if NFL ratings are down this year, that’s still a behemoth compared to most scripted content. Without football every other scripted show should prosper in the ratings.

2. More episodes in January – If you are a network show you live to air new episodes in January. Many of these shows are not considered appointment television by opulent viewers — they can just set them on their DVRs and come back to them later when they finish doing whatever it is that they’re doing during prime time. Yet, in January the weather is cold and there’s not as much going on. In the northern part of the United States the sun is also setting at around 4:00 p.m. Eastern. There’s more incentive to watch the show live, and getting as many episodes as you can in during this time of the year is a very-smart move.

Rest assured, even with the ratings Chicago Fire has right now it’s not in any danger. This show is an anchor for NBC and is well on its way to a season 7.

If you do want more Chicago Fire news…

Be sure to head over here to get some more recent scoop from executive producer Derek Haas! He spoke to CarterMatt while at One Chicago Day and gave us some great insight on the show.

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