Chicago Fire: a Soap Opera Disguised as a Rescue Show?

Summary:

• Chicago Fire started off strong as a procedural drama about the heroic feats of firefighters.
• Over time, the show began leaning more into its characters’ personal lives and less into their job.
• Some fans enjoy Chicago Fire being a “soap opera without over-dramatic acting,” but most would love for it to return to its roots.

Chicago Fire has been going strong for a dozen years now, and it’s gathered a massive audience of loyal viewers. But as years went by, the insidious truth about the show was becoming more and more apparent: Chicago Fire is not a rescue show — it’s a love soap opera set against the backdrop of Firehouse 51. At least, now.

Fans point out the dramatic difference between the early Chicago Fire and the latest seasons as interpersonal drama takes over more and more screen time.

Chicago Fire Used to Be a Rescue Show

At the beginning of its triumphant TV run, Chicago Fire was, indeed, a show about selfless firefighters putting their lives on the line to save people from collapsing buildings and being heroes on a daily basis. The series was filled with dramatic rescue missions, interesting arson cases, and scary action sequences.

But as time went by, Chicago Fire started to divert its attention more and more toward the firefighters’ personal lives. While we only saw glimpses of those in the first seasons, the latest ones focus primarily on the internal drama instead of having it support the main point of interest, turning the series into an actual soap opera.

Chicago Fire Fans Can’t Ignore It Anymore

The longer Dick Wolf’s shows keep going, the more they shift their focus from the professional drama to the personal one, and Chicago Fire didn’t escape this fate, either. While the process began as early as Season 2 which saw a significant increase of personal storylines compared to S1, it only kept getting worse.

“It's a shame because [Chicago Fire] started off strong, with lots of interesting, dramatic rescues, with a little bit of insight into their off-shift lives. But I guess long, pregnant pauses and two people making doe eyes at each other are a lot cheaper to film than burning buildings and flipped vehicles,” Reddit user KitWat quipped.

While some fans admit they dropped the series altogether because of this, others argue that the “soap opera without the over-dramatic acting” vibe is exactly why they love Chicago Fire. Ultimately, it seems like most people would still prefer to get more actual firefighting in a show called Chicago Fire, and we’re with them on this hill.