Why Chicago Fire, Station 19 can both successfully coexist
Starting this Thursday, there is set to be a new Thursday-night rivalry like no other with one thing at the center of it: Firefighters. You have Chicago Fire over on NBC. Meanwhile, you’ve also got at the same time Station 19 airing over on ABC. Both shows are airing two-hour episodes in what we figure is a fun little game of TV chicken. Both want to rule the reality TV firehouse but only one can.
Yet, do the two shows really have to cancel each other out? We understand that there is a certain fear of that happening just because these are two shows with similar subject matter. With that being said, though, they don’t necessarily have to share the same audience. When it comes to Station 19, for example, the ABC series is trying to capture much of the same audience that is already watching Grey’s Anatomy before it. While there are fires and plenty of action, there is also going to be an effort to replicate that show’s tone which is somewhat different from what Chicago Fire is trying to do.
For viewers who are already watching Chicago Fire, we don’t necessarily think that there is any reason for them to suddenly switch away to a different firefighter show. What it does it does extremely well and there is no real need to change that. The onus here is more on Station 19 to capture much of the same audience that Grey’s Anatomy does and they’re going to do just about everything that they can to make that happen. For example, Ellen Pompeo and Chandra Wilson are each going to be appearing on the Station 19 premiere as a way in which to show a little bit of crossover potential between the two shows right away.
At the moment, our ratings sentiment is pretty much this: If both series manage to get higher than a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic, there is a pretty good chance that they are each going to be coming back for more episodes down the line. Chicago Fire seems set with that and the odds of there being a season 7 are pretty strong; the onus here is a little bit more on Station 19 to deliver the ratings in which we think that it should. Remember, there are many cop shows that all air opposite each other on a regular basis; while there may be competition between the shows, for the most part it is seemingly overblown.
Related – Check out our on-set Station 19 feature now!
Which show are you planning to watch at the moment: Chicago Fire or Station 19? Are you going to figure out a way to check out both? Share below!
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