Season 8 of “Chicago Hearth” suffers from a typical downside for long-running sequence: writers can solely reinvent the wheel so many instances. Whereas this season has respectable path and motion, lots of its storylines are much less attention-grabbing. Much like season 3, this season kicks off with the demise of a beloved character and follows Firehouse 51 as they deal with the aftermath. This time, the unfortunate sufferer is Brian “Otis” Zvonecek (Yuri Sardarov), a woefully underrated younger firefighter. Otis’ demise would not obtain fairly the identical remedy as Leslie Shay’s, however the sequence explores some small tragedies that comply with his sudden demise: In “A Actual Shot In The Arm,” Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) has to promote Otis’ portion of Molly’s Bar to maintain the enterprise afloat.

Though the primary few episodes efficiently capitalize on the fallout of this unhappy occasion, the season shortly stalls out. Gabriela Dawson (Monica Raymund) resurfaces in “Greatest Pal Magic,” and the crew takes half in a “One Chicago” crossover occasion. Nonetheless, these storylines do not pack sufficient punch to hold the center of the season. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted manufacturing in March 2020. Because of this, season 8 ended three episodes sooner than deliberate. Whereas the finale, “51’s Unique Bell,” works, it is not as highly effective as different finales within the sequence.