One Chicago is one of the longest-running  TV franchises. The shows continue to pull impressive numbers close to a decade in, often completing the television season in the top ten programs and Chicago Fire cracking the top three. Changes are to be expected but of late, the franchise has seen several exits, across Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med. Questions about the shows’ direction have come up as long-time cast members leave, and it has become common for comments doubting the franchise’s future to dominate comments sections.  TV Line spoke to NBCUniversal’s President of Programming and Strategy, Jeff Bader, about what the future looks like as the list of long-running cast members thins with every passing week.

Bader said that he wasn’t concerned about the shows since “cast comes in, cast goes out.” He looked at the upside of cast changes as old faces depart and new ones replace them. Chicago Fire has seen at least four new faces this season, something Bader says it “obviously keeps the shows fresh.” He confirmed the network’s dedication to keeping the shows on the air, saying,

“It’s interesting because every year there are cast changes, and every year someone asks the same question [about the state of #OneChicago.] But [those shows] just keep going on. We’re thrilled with how the Chicagos do on Wednesday. We have no plans on changing anything on that night.”

Cast Changes In One Chicago So Far