One Chicago's 2026 Crossover Sounds Awfully Familiar

Every year, NBC's One Chicago shows get together for a world-shaking, multi-series crossover event that spans all three programs. But this time around the plotline sounds pretty familiar — like the kind of chaos that an episode of fellow procedural "9-1-1" would produce.

OneChi's latest three-part event will air on March 4 and will use a passenger jet as a gateway to calamity, with the plane going silent mid-flight and revealing a deeper problem that threatens a vast amount of lives. In similar fashion, "9-1-1" also loves abandoning its characters in the stratosphere or forcing them to deal with plane crashes. For instance, Season 8 of the drama opens with a three-part episode in which a passenger aircraft comes under attack from a swarm of bees, leaving series regular Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) to land the airliner with the help of her flight instructor. Then the Season 9 premiere sends Athena and Hen (Aisha Hinds) into space, only for them to weather a geomagnetic storm and wind up stranded. 

While the One Chicago universe's take on the air disaster trope will likely be as serious as a heart attack compared to the outlandish nature of "9-1-1," it's hard not to see the similarity between the two action-packed juggernauts.

Historically, these sweeping One Chicago stories have stayed grounded in reality. Individually each of the dramas sometimes promote bizarre storylines of their own, but the crossovers are usually exempt from such tomfoolery, unified by high stakes and heartbreaking plot twists. Previous joint outings have seen a deadly virus sweep the city, a gas explosion endanger the town's infrastructure, and a mad bomber threaten Chicago Gaffney Medical Center, putting the police on high alert and keeping the fire squad on their toes. Nothing too fanciful or unusual — not a shark attack to be found, unlike on "9-1-1" – and some of the franchise's best crossover moments have taken place during these multi-show events.

"9-1-1," meanwhile, has stayed within its own lane thematically and has crossed over with sister shows "9-1-1: Lone Star" and "9-1-1: Nashville" occasionally. It also intersected with the similarly campy one-season wonder "Doctor Odyssey," in an episode tha saw Athena cope with a possible shipboard heist. While the newest One Chicago crossover's tone and full plotline are currently still under wraps, don't be surprised if it touches your heart instead of tickling your funnybone.