Chicago Fire enters rarefied air this Wednesday when it celebrates its 200th episode (airing at 9/8c on NBC).
In a world where many series never even make it past their first season, the drama’s milestone achievement is not one to be minimized — and it might only mark the midpoint of the show’s life! “May the last 10 years merely be the precursor to the next 10,” executive producer Dick Wolf said at the 200th episode cake-cutting.
Asked how long he sees the show lasting, co-creator and showrunner Derek Haas tells TVLine, “I said to my own family, ‘As long as the audience keeps watching, we’ll keep making them’… It is mind-blowing that we still have these longtime, faithful watchers, plus a few new ones. So it feels like there’s an appetite for it.”
“And it’s never boring. If you’re in the fire department, those calls are never boring,” Haas continues. “That’s what makes the show awesome. When the bells go off, you don’t know what you’re going to see next. So we’re still loving it, loving the challenges, and always trying to top ourselves and always trying to come up with a new surprise.”
In honor of this week’s big installment, TVLine invited Haas to look back at the 199 episodes that preceded it and share his picks for his favorite romantic moment, the character he misses most, the most difficult scene to shoot and much more.
Scroll down to check out Haas’ answers, then hit the comments with your own choices! And for scoop on what’s in store for No. 200 and Casey’s future, click here.
Season 7, Episode 22, “I’m Not Leaving You”
“Every now and then, we do these gigantic finales where people are in jeopardy, but that one seemed like it was our biggest we’d ever done,” Haas says. “It was at a mattress factory, and they were down in the basement. There was a giant boiler on fire. Everybody was kind of in different places, and I just remember, wow, that was a huge, huge production.”
Season 2, Episode 8, “Rhymes With Shout”
“I always remember the first time Casey and Gabby kissed,” Haas says. “She was getting ready to go over to his place, and there’s this great little sequence of shots that Joe Chappelle directed, where she’s getting dressed in the mirror, she’s putting on lipstick, and she opens her door, and Casey’s there. He was coming over to her place. That one, I’ll always remember as being a really great romantic moment.”
Season 6, Episode 14, “Looking for a Lifeline”
Haas also singles out a scene that took place after Stella brought Severide to a hospital ward dedication in honor of his late girlfriend Anna. As they were driving back, “you kind of thought he was in a hurry… and then the camera pushed in, and they just got milkshakes,” Haas recalls. “That was really sweet.”
Season 6, Episode 11, “Law of the Jungle”
“There’s so many different ones for different reasons, but probably my favorite, for no other reason than it was fun, was Severide and Casey were trapped on the roof of this factory, and there was this nozzle that if they [let it go], the whole thing was going to blow,” Haas recalls. “We kept referencing Butch and Sundance, where they jumped off the cliff into the water. So the two of them, knowing that they’re going to have to run and jump, and this giant fireball’s going to be chasing them, then jump into the Chicago River. I really love that one.”
Season 2, Episode 22, “Real Never Waits”
The series has hosted a number of weddings — Casey and Gabby at the courthouse, Mouch and Trudy at Molly’s, Cruz and Chloe in a church — but one ceremony stands out as Haas’ favorite because of its very special location: Boden and Donna’s nuptials on the apron of the firehouse. “That was pretty awesome because the firetrucks had their ladders crossed, and it just seemed really cool and sweet,” Haas says.
Season 8’s “Infection” crossover with Chicago Med and Chicago P.D.
“It was the biggest [crossover] we’d ever done. It was nonstop action in our third of it, but also just the other two [shows] were so well integrated,” Haas boasts.
Then there’s the eerie, prescient storyline that took center stage during the event. “In the third hour, they were supposed to go to this parade, and when they got there, it was just tumbleweeds as far as the eye could see,” Haas describes. “I remember thinking, ‘Is this realistic? Would, really, everyone not go out on the street because they heard on the news…?’ and then a year later, it all happened. So, weirdly, that subject matter is so odd in retrospect, but it was a great crossover.”
Season 8, Episode 1, “Sacred Ground”
“I’m a softie, so I cry a lot. There’s not too many episodes where something doesn’t get me,” Haas admits. “But the hardest I’ve cried in an episode was maybe the Season 8 premiere, when Boden is unveiling Otis’ memorial, and his speech that he gives, and the way Cruz breaks down. That one really got me.”
Season 9, Episode 16, “No Survivors”
With Severide, Cruz and the rest of the rescue squad trapped underwater in “the sinking boat in last season’s finale on Lake Michigan, I was like, ‘Oh, this is going to drive [the fans] crazy over the summer,'” Haas confesses with a laugh.
Season 3, Episode 8, “Chopper”
The episode’s helicopter crash “was one that we had thought about for a year before we actually pulled it off,” Haas shares. “We had to buy a used helicopter from Florida, ship it by train to Chicago. Then we had to format it, use a crane to lift it on top of this building, broke it into pieces because pieces were scattered around. And then we had to find a location where we could dangle a helicopter off the roof, but also find all the other locations around there that we could put the the helicopter [parts] on. So that was a huge undertaking.”
Considering how many characters have departed the series — some tragically, some hopefully — it’s difficult for Haas to pick just one person he misses. “That’d be a tie between Otis, Shay [pictured above], Mills [and] Dawson,” he says. “All of [the departed characters], in some way, you miss them, especially if they’ve been there more than a season. Some of the ones that were shorter-lived, you don’t miss as much. But the ones who really joined the acting troupe, so to speak, I think about them a lot.”
(Check out TVLine’s ranking of #OneChicago exits here.)
Season 1, Episode 19, “A Coffin That Small”
“It’s when we had a funeral pass by [the firehouse for] a little boy who they couldn’t save, and all the firefighters were out in front, saluting the funeral procession as it went by,” Haas describes. “The snow fell, and their salutes all went in unison. You couldn’t have scripted the giant snowflakes that we got that day, and that was really just such a killer episode anyway. That’s another one I cried at.”
Season 1, Episode 2, “Mon Amour”
“I always tell people it was our second episode that really did it. I love the pilot, but it’s a pilot. So you’re still learning the characters, and you’re still learning how to tell these stories,” Haas says. “But in the second episode, we did this thing where a guy [played by guest star Jeffrey DeMunn] was trapped, and he wasn’t going to make it out of there alive. Severide took a video of him saying his goodbye, and then at the end of the episode, [he] delivered it to his wife, and his wife watched the video of him saying goodbye.”
“I’ve always said that scene is the reason the show stayed on the air as long as it did,” Haas continues, “because it was so dynamic and a surprise, but also super emotional and showed what a good heart these firefighters had. When the next episode after that one aired, the ratings went way up, and you just saw, ‘Oh, OK, maybe this thing’s going to last for a while.'”
“The one that we tried to do, but haven’t yet figured out how to make it work, financially or logistically, is a plane crash. Like a jumbo jet that crash-landed somewhere,” Haas says. “When you work at Universal Studios, they have this plane carcass that was used in War of the Worlds. I always would go on walks in the afternoon, and you pass this giant plane wreck, and I’m always like, ‘Oh, how could we do that?’ That would be fun, but [we] haven’t figured that one out yet.”
Season 6, Episode 11, “Law of the Jungle” best episode ever .
Sacred Ground just did me in again. I can still picture Otis, all burned saying his final words. Thankfully there isn’t a video from A Coffin That Small because I remember it so clearly.
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Enough tears ok. Between Gibbs leaving and all the changes there and the list above, I’m running out of tears.😢
Used to be my favorite show but it’s changed p. I sure I’m in a minority but I don’t like the new guy Gallo. Hate the Casey/Brett romance. Don’t understand what’s going on with Chief.
I totally agree, the Casey/Brett “romance” is horrible. So boring and no chemistry. Worst pairing ever!
I am going to be so angry if Casey leaves Chicago Fire. I am so tired of all of these Chicago shows getting rid of main characters
who knows….should be interesting….
The characters I miss most are Shay and Otis. Cried a lot when those 2 passed away.
IF, at any time in the future, any one to the Chicago’s were to fade, it would seriously create a VOID. Each, a stand alone, is a family together.
I believe you nailed it on them all,but the one when severide does video of the gentleman not making it was AWESOME
Miss , Mills,Shay, not Dawson
Thanks for sharing,
I’ve streamed it 3 times while taking in new episodes
I love this show! One of my favorite schemes is whin Kelly proposed to Stella with fire all around. Another one I just watch again is where Casey almost died along with Herman and Mouch. You think Casey really died and then he walks in. Awesome!,
Still miss Otis & always say “hi” to him when they show the memorial in a scene
The best romantic scene was with Casey and Brett finally declaring their love
Yuck! So boring they are!
I will never get over Shay. Never ever ever! I don’t know if it’s Lauren who makes that loss so huge or how Shay was written or both but I will never not tear up when they mention her. She had chemistry with everyone, she made me care so much 💔
I love the show I watched from the beginning and will watch till the very end. I hope Casey does not leave I will really miss himZ we already lost one firefighter why I don’t know.Keep making great shows I will be watching. Thank you for years of great tv.
I’ve watched from Day 1 so I guess Mr. Haas would call me a faithful follower. Love every aspect of the show. Yes we lose favourite characters but it’s all part and parcel of a show especially one about firefighters and their lives. To the cast and crew, you are all awesome!
Love the Chicago shows—all three of them but I enjoy the Chicago Fire best because of the romance between Casey and Britt. But last week’s show – it looks like it might be over….maybe not!!
I don’t care about all of his favorite episodes. All I care about is whether or not Casey is going to stay. All else is not important, and if he leaves, this show will have a BIG hole in it and lots of very dissatisfied viewers. So, is he staying or is he going?
The only one I really agree with is “Sacred Ground”.
I watch all the Chicago shows and that episode makes me cry every single time I watch it. I still don’t think Otis should have died
“A Coffin That Small” was when I knew Fire was a great series. I teared up on that one, and several since. Don’t care for PD, and Med is a solid show with great performances, but Fire is one of the few shows today with actual heart.