'Chicago P.D.'s Fate Has Been Decided by NBC

Chicago P.D. has been on a wild ride for twelve seasons, and after some uncertainty about its future, NBC has finally decided the fate of the police procedural: the show will return for Season 13. The announcement also contemplated P.D.'s sister series Chicago Fire and Chicago Med, whose futures have also been decided.

The delay in the announcement gave fans pause, because the One Chicago shows tend to be top performers on the NBC schedule. Because of that, fans suspected that something was off when the network only announced the renewal of St. Denis Medical and Happy's Place and stayed mum on the long-running procedurals. However, Deadline revealed that part of the reason why NBC took a little longer to make the decision is because the network will serve as host for the next season of the NBA championship, which means that the fall schedule will have to be flexible to accommodate all matches. An additional reason is the budget cut that will affect all Chicago series, and long-running cast members may end up exiting.

At the same time, all Chicago series are pretty much perceived as one at this point, and not renewing the trio would make the next season of each of them feel incomplete — especially when the crossover events take place. The renewal will take Chicago P.D. to the landmark 250-episode count, a number that not many TV shows manage to reach. So fans should keep their eyes peeled for a possible event-episode on Season 13.

'Chicago P.D.' Is In a Festive Mood

Unlike its sister series, Chicago P.D. is gearing up for a mostly happy season finale. Adam Ruzek (Patrick Flueger) and Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) are preparing for a long-awaited wedding, and just recently the series' stars took to social media to tease filming of the anticipated episode. It also looks like the event will feature at least one character from Chicago Med, so fans should also look out for possible crossovers that give a hint about how all the shows will return in the Fall.

At the same time, the last leg of Season 13 will not be all flowers as tensions rise among other characters. Some episodes ago, Chief Reid (Shawn Hatosy) and Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) went head to head over a new initiative that put their ethics into question. We still don't know how high this feud will escalate, but Hatosy already teased that their working relationship is "heading in a very disastrous direction."

The next episode of Chicago P.D. is scheduled to air this Wednesday, May 7. You can stream all seasons on Peacock.