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Who do you think is physically stronger Tracy or Jesse?

If she is as strong as LaRoyce, then she is stronger than Jesse. That's just science.

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Procedural

Procedural (but with Kathy Bates)

Unscripted/Investigative

Procedural

Obligatory sitcom that your parents watch

Procedural

Procedural

Firefighter Procedural (just noting that it's not crime-based)

Funky Comedy Procedural

Medical Drama

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Nothing funnier than my coworkers moaning and groaning and saying "I hate my teammmm."

Dodgers fans, mind you.

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Do you know if it was ever confirmed what year Hailey’s birthday was meant to be? I feel like we were given 3 times/ages with which we could work it out for ourselves but I don’t think anyone has ever agreed. E.g. she told a witness she’d been on the job for 12 years in season 8, yet in season 9 they are celebrating 10 years on the job.

I think most people think 1990 but part of me feels like most are choosing that year because it makes Hailey very young in comparison to Jay which is why the team were surprised by her being a detective when she joined in s4 (also close in age to Tracy’s wiki birthday - I know there’s a few who have ‘proof’ she’s older than the internet says)

I don't think people agreed because the show contradicted itself 😂

I tend to go with the first mentioning of a timeline, which was season five when I believe they said she was twelve during the robbery at her family's diner that took place in February of 2003. That's where 1990 comes from, assuming she hadn't had a birthday yet that year.

Seasons 8 and 9 contradict that, and contradict each other so it becomes a bit of a free for all. To me, exact age isn't that important. The 1990 year puts Hailey in her late twenties when she joined, and mid thirties when she departed. That's always been close enough for me. If you want an exact year, you can pretty much choose anything within that late eighties to 1990 range, and I think at least one random line in the show will back it up.

As for Tracy's birthday, I think it's her business to leave ambiguous if she chooses to.

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Are you willing to give sneak peeks for the new story? ☺️

Ehhhh, what the hell. It's set during Will's wedding weekend.

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I can lighten up the mood… what was your favorite Jesse/Tracy/cast BTS video prior to Upstead getting together & your favorite after the characters got together?

Oh, man. I might have less exposure to a lot of the BTS stuff, but I've probably seen enough.

Before the characters got together, there is a video of Paddy and Jesse (I think?) singing super high-pitched while Tracy and Jon (I think?) film. It has the energy of one of those fraturdays where you're shooting until 2am and you lost your mind four hours ago. PD also used to do fun interview segments like the lie detector, newlywed game, quarantine unscripted thing, etc.

After they got together... whew it feels like a lot of BTS stuff slowed down because of the covid precautions and all that. I like the ladies interview with Tracy, Marina, and Amy. I also liked the Wolf-produced video of how they shot 9x13.

Did I miss anything really obvious?

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How’s the fanfiction writing coming along? Did you get any inspiration for anything non- s10 fix it related?

I'm sorry to the season 10 fix-it haters but that's what I've been fiddling with 😂

I'm only on the first chapter, out of what I imagine will be five or six? It's all very premature. Fix-it also probably isn't the best description. It takes place after season 11, as it was. I'm trying not to make it too angsty, and maybe a little bit tropey.

Edit: and yes, it heavily involves Will

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Sometimes I get caught up in small fandom cliques who hate Hailey and who think the show is better off without her that I think that's how everyone feels but if you look at comments on other social media and in from general viewers it becomes very obvious that she is missed. I miss her.

Not getting into the PD echo chambers but "loudest does not speak for all" is a decent lesson in this day and age. There a lot of spheres more important than TV that I hope to God that people understand that.

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Do you think budget cuts will make pd lose someone again? I've been trying to stay with the show and let's just say I'm holding on by a thread. If they lose someone else, I would be done.

Not sure. They have a small cast but I think they also (someone correct me if I'm wrong here) have the highest number of series regulars who have been there the longest. Longer tenures on the show means higher pay (generally speaking, there are always variables). They're already doing the reduced episodes thing, so don't expect that to change.

I guess I wouldn't be surprised either way.

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So why if it has high ratings Jake and Daniel from fire got let go? That’s one thing I still don’t understand … I feel like it’s beyond the “budget”?

Shows get more expensive as they run longer, primarily due to cast and crew salaries going up over time. Network TV in general is declining (which means declining budgets) and the Chicago shows have been on the air a long time, so it makes sense that the network would tighten the purse strings every season they choose to renew.

It's not really a matter of high ratings anymore. It's about money. It's a matter of when the shows become more costly to make than the revenue they bring in. The network will continue tightening the budget to manage that gap no matter what the viewership, and that unfortunately means reducing the number of series regulars.

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Ik you aren't watching but do you know why nbc hasn't announced renewals for the chicago shows yet? The actress they brought in because Tracy left, Toya, has given interviews talking about what is coming up in season 13 so we can assume they know it's happening. Why the delay?

Figuring out budgets, I assume.

Worth noting- though I expect the shows to be picked up again- the writers and cast can plan for whatever they want, but that doesn't guarantee the network will renew.

That said, yeah budgets.

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I feel like if cpd and 911 are teaching us anything it's that one person shouldn't be able to make every decision for a show by themselves

If anything, I just think a good showrunner would implement a system of checks and balances, so to speak, for decisions that are final (a character exit or death, not just a random storyline). If enough cast or other writers question or object, you go back to the drawing board. Of course, that takes experience, self-awareness, and a willingness to accept feedback- all traits that have been found lacking from both shows combined.

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I’m kinda surprised that there’s still so many S10 fix-it fan fictions. I was (still am to be honest) so angry with Jay’s character assassination, especially what an a-hole the writers turned him into after he left and the actor was no longer there to defend his character. I think I unwillingly got sucked into maybe 2 fix-it fics but even then I felt the anger resurfacing. Do you ever feel that way on the other side of it as a writer? Hope this isn’t coming off like don’t write about that, obviously people have the right to write and read whatever they want, I just know you’ve also felt like the writing on the show was such BS. Was just curious if you wouldn’t mind sharing what the drive is to recognize it as truth/reality in your own writing?

I think there are so many fix-its because the writing was so bad. If they had followed the logic set up by five seasons of development and written them off in-character and together, there wouldn't be much to fix. Maybe there would be future fics and all that, but not as much to correct.

I was definitely angry when the episodes first aired and it might come and go sometimes, but now I'm at the point where I almost have to laugh. It was such a pathetically constructed story, and it made so little sense that I look back at it and think... really? That's what you came up with? You think that that honored your characters, or showed that you understand them in the slightest? K.

I don't know. I had an ask about this recently, but at this point I know that the writing was baseless and out of character, so that makes it easier for me to just shake my head and move on. Personally, the reality is that what we saw on screen happened, but I still know those characters would end up together. I believe they do in the future since the rest of their lives are ours- not the show's- to construct. I keep that in my mind when I'm writing.

If you want to pretend season 10 onward doesn't exist, that's just as valid. It's all make-believe after all.

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People say that scenes with big spoilers are better off filmed on a film lot, but does that mean that people who work there have scenes spoiled for them if they do?

Yep. It is what it is, and in my experience it's no big deal.

It's only happened to me a couple times that I was on the same lot as shows I watched. Plenty of stuff is kept to sound stages, but there were still definitely spoilers from names on trailer doors, labels on sets, loose-lipped crew, or walking by and seeing their setup if they were shooting outside. It's just part of the gig.

There's kind of an inherent trust that if someone works on a lot, they know better than to photograph something and put it online (which they absolutely should). If that particular lot is one of those that have tours, the production would communicate with the studio ahead of time to have the tours rerouted if they don't want the public zooming by.

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Sorry for spoilers to those who haven’t heard or currently watching, but now that it’s official he’s leaving, do you find it crazy that they filmed such a crucial scene in public & allowed fans to post such major spoilers? I just feel like productions of years ago would have never!!

https://deadline.com/2025/04/9-1-1-peter-krause-killed-off-1236358909/

I don't watch 9-1-1 anymore (I think I saw like one season, years ago) so almost everything I know about the show now, I saw online. That said, YES. I saw their showrunner saying how surprised he was that people turned up and were posting online and my man... it's 2025. Productions of years ago didn't have to worry about this as much, but online fandoms have been big long enough to know what's what.

If you're not wanting to avoid spoilers at all, they did everything right. Out in the open, big ass production setup, fans literally steps away and allowed to freely photograph everything (legally you can't stop them but you can always put up physical barriers or just ask that people are courteous enough to wait to post).

If they were intending to avoid spoilers, the entire approach was naive. Me, someone who does not watch the show or specifically follow 9-1-1 accounts, saw everything. That's how bad it spread. My take is that if you want a big funeral procession, I agree it's a good scene to have, but for the love of pete use some kind of barrier and have PAs lock down.

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Hello tv viewers can we please get past the mentality that saying "these shows have run their course and I think they should end" is the same as saying "I'm rooting for hundreds of crew members to lose their job". Every show has to end at some point and tv is not a lifetime gig. Whether shows end tomorrow or after fifty seasons, there will be a crew whose work ends. That's part of the entertainment industry. OK I'm off my soapbox moving on.

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Thanks for the serious regular answer… I was wondering since Jake Lockett had just gotten upped to regular on this season of Fire & now he’s getting cut, which kind of sucks!

Oh, 100% sucks. His series regular contract must have been one season, and they opted not to renew. It's brutal, and unfortunately probably not the last across the three shows (though we'll see).