'Chicago Fire' Season 8 Episode 18 will not air this week, here's what to expect when the NBC show returns

Fans are upset and have even taken to Twitter to ask showrunner Derek Haas as to why the show goes on so many breaks, considering that this has happened a few times this year already
(NBC)
(NBC)

A new episode of 'Chicago Fire' will not air this week, but ChiHards need not worry since it's one of the scheduled breaks the 'Chicago' franchise will go on during the season. All three 'Chicago' franchise shows will return with new episodes next week.

Understandably, fans are upset and have even taken to Twitter to ask showrunner Derek Haas as to why the show goes on so many breaks, considering that this has happened a few times this year already.

Haas replied to one of the fans, "We make 23 episodes in a season (September to May.) It takes 8 days to shoot an episode and about 3 weeks to edit, add the score, sound effects, visual effects, etc. So we work nonstop from June to [the] end of April. We need the breaks just to catch up so we have episodes to put on the air. Little breaks give us time to complete the shows. The second reason is there might be some big event like the World Series or Presidential debates that will be up against us and we don't want to lose viewers."

Anyhow, 'Chicago Fire' Season 8 Episode 17 will air on March 18 and fans could expect some quality Blake Gallo and Matt Casey content.

Gallo joined Firehouse 51 after Otis' death in the season premiere. Slowly, we learned about Gallo's past where he was the only one saved as a child during a fire that killed the rest of his family, including his little sister.

Casey has taken on the role of a mentor to Gallo and learned that Gallo was keeping tabs on a little girl who was put in a coma after being caught in a major fire. We learned that the girl was the same age as his sister when she died.

In the upcoming episode, in the aftermath of a suburban house fire involving a mother and her young son, things get personal for Gallo and Casey. Gallo has quickly become a fan-favorite and we hope that Casey's and Gallo's relationship remains a staple for the show.

The main case of the episode is when a man is caught under a huge warehouse rack. However, one mistake could cost lives and as we see in the promo, Joe Cruz may get trapped as another rack falls. With his wedding coming up soon, we hope Cruz is okay.

Elsewhere, Christopher Herrmann campaigns for more respect and Stella Kidd has an idea for giving back to her community.

'Chicago Fire' airs on NBC on Wednesday nights at 9/8c. The next episode will air on March 18.

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