DVD Review: Chicago Fire Season 3

Season three of Chicago Fire sees the first major cast turnover in the show, with two series regulars departing. One of the departures is a carryover from the season two cliffhanger with a death that shakes up the firehouse at the outset of the season and continues to have major ramifications throughout the season, including in one of the crossover episodes with Chicago PD. The other departure comes toward the end of the season. I will not say who the characters are or which one died so as not to spoil anything for people who may not have seen the season episodes yet, but if you are a fan of another, now recently concluded series, you will know who one of the characters that left the show is, and why the actor left.

As far as season three goes, it is much in the same vein as the first two seasons with story arcs of various sizes and importance, that play out between emergencies. Some of those this season include Chief Borden, becoming a dad, Casey getting in deep with shady people through his construction gig, Severide's spiraling personal life, and more. Throughout the season, there are a couple of crossover events that include Fire, PD, and Law and Order SVU, including calling back to a case from SVU 10 years prior. Season three again ends on a big cliffhanger, but much different than the one in the season two finale. This season also includes an introduction to the new show, Chicago Med, as well as an episode that is basically a backdoor pilot for Med, which would premiere the next year. This is much the same as what was done to launch Chicago PD. Some of the series regular cast members from Med made at least one appearance on Fire, and of course characters from Chicago PD appeared regularly on Fire in small cameo drop-ins throughout the season. 

For those who get the DVD, the bonus material includes behind-the-scenes featurettes for each episode and the episodes from Chicago PD and Law and Order SVU that were a part of the crossover events. Overall, the show continues to be well-written and well-acted. It is a bit soap-opera-ish because of the fact that there is, for the most part, not a case of the week but accidents that are mainly resolved within a few minutes of screen time. That said, the show does a good job balancing out the soap opera-like elements with the job-related elements to keep the show from getting too cheesy and keeping it interesting. If you were a fan of the first couple of seasons of the show it is definitely worth sticking with for the third season.