Exclusive: FOX cancels 'The Chicago Code'
Shawn Ryan-produced cop drama one of several FOX series to get the axe Tuesday night
Jason Clarke, Jennifer Beals and Matt Lauria in "The Chicago Code," which FOX declined to renew.
It's been a very busy night for FOX, which, according to various published reports, has already ordered several new shows for its fall schedule, including the JJ Abrams-produced "Alcatraz," the "Bones" spin-off "The Finder" and the Zooey Deschanel sitcom "The New Girl," while also deciding that "Human Target" and "Breaking In" won't be back on next year's schedule. Given all the action, and given that "The Chicago Code" was on the renewal bubble right along with "Human Target" and several other series, I thought I'd check in with that show's creator, Shawn Ryan, to see what he was hearing.
The ratings for "Chicago Code" had never been especially strong, and with so many high-profile pilots in development, on top of pre-existing commitments for next fall for "Terra Nova" and "The X Factor," there wasn't going to be a lot of real estate on next year's schedule. At best, one of "Human Target," "Chicago Code" and "Lie to Me" were going to get picked up. Now, at least 2 out of those 3 have been removed from the equation.
I wrote in my review of last night's episode that the show had a lot of good raw material that it didn't quite know what to do with yet, but that I was hopeful Ryan - who already had FX's "Terriers" canceled out from under him this season - and company would figure out how to make it work by the time a second season started. Instead, no second season, and the show will likely end as a big ball of unrealized potential.
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May 10, 2011 at 11:09PM EST Reply to CommentThis sucks
May 10, 2011 at 11:10PM EST Reply to CommentI meant the cancelation sucks, great article Alan!
The Noble Robot
May 10, 2011 at 11:12PM EST Reply to Comment"...while also deciding that "Human Target" and 'Breaking In.' Given all the action, and given..."
I gather from the context in the article that these shows were canceled, but you forgot to say so. :-)
#corrections
TheGba
May 10, 2011 at 11:13PM EST Reply to CommentStupid. They are cancelling this show with potential while developing a spinoff to Bones?
Eldritch I made a point to view that "Bones" episode which introduced "Finder."
May 10, 2011 at 11:48PM ESTCrap, that was bad.
May 11, 2011 at 1:10PM ESTpfeif
May 10, 2011 at 11:13PM EST Reply to CommentNetwork tv is a joke
Zach Szykowny
May 10, 2011 at 11:13PM EST Reply to CommentNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
May 10, 2011 at 11:15PM EST Reply to CommentGee, I can't wait for the crapfest that will be X Factor. Thanks for nothing, Fox. I hate you.
velocityknown
May 10, 2011 at 11:16PM EST Reply to CommentPoor Shawn Ryan. Any chance it finds second life on a cable network like TNT?
webdiva Even if it made it to TNT, it needs an overhaul of the following variety:
May 16, 2011 at 5:21PM EST1) better writing - the scripts never gelled, and they'd need better mastery of Chicago slang so it didn't sound occasionally goofy (like drop the crap about using 'coppers' - sheesh! It sounds so fake whenever they use it, and I say this as a Chicagoan).
2) Jennifer Beals would HAVE to drop that idiotic accent and start acting like a pro; hers was only a sporadically acceptable performance, and she was miscast - I would've gone for a bigger, more reliable name to carry the show and given her a cooler, savvier temperament. Joan Allen comes to mind, if you're going to go with a hometown actress. Beals couldn't carry the show alone, and Jason Clarke hadn't settled into his character enough yet to help her out. The comparison here would be to The Good Wife: an excellent actor like Julianna Margulies CAN carry a show, and Margulies has lots of competent help. You can't say that about The Chicago Code.
3) too short a season -- the show simply needed a 22 or 23-week season, a longer period in which to get us filled in on the background of and invested in the main characters and their stories, relationships, etc. Third Watch got 22 episodes its first season and grew into a hit; so did NYPD Blue and Law & Order and its various spin-offs. Even The X Files got a 23-episode first season. In contrast, Homicide: Life on the Street got 9 episodes its first season, 4 its second, and only in its third did it get 20 episodes, so there's a reason it was a sleeper. Southland got only 7 episodes its first season and 6 its second. There's a lesson here, and Fox (among others) isn't paying attention, to its detriment and ours. They're just unforgivably stupid.
But there's blame to go around. I, for one, never liked Terriers, so I had low expectations of Shawn Ryan -- and he lived down to them. This is as much his fault as anyone's, and it means that it'll be years before anyone else tries to film another network show in or about Chicago. THAT's the part that pisses me off the most: there were great stories to tell here, and Ryan blew it. Figures: the guy's from Rockford; what else could I expect? Phooey!! I'll watch the last two episodes knowing that there was a huge opportunity here, and Ryan, Beals, and the writers sank it. Idiots all.
Matt C.
May 10, 2011 at 11:16PM EST Reply to CommentThis sucks. This show was quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Plus, it easily had the best credits song on TV.
May 11, 2011 at 5:56AM EST
May 11, 2011 at 10:18AM EST
May 10, 2011 at 11:18PM EST Reply to CommentHuman Target and Breaking In have been cancelled? :'(
May 10, 2011 at 11:20PM EST Reply to CommentThe difference between The Chicago Code vs The Shield was that one show had a good group of characters (not actors) while another featured a bland group of characters. But nonetheless, it sucks to see any show with potential get the axe.
Chrissy
May 10, 2011 at 11:23PM EST Reply to CommentOh, I've been enjoying this. If Americans don't even like cop shows anymore, my whole world is basically askew.
shmrck14
May 10, 2011 at 11:24PM EST Reply to CommentTotally sucky news...not as heart broken as I was with Terriers, but still disappointed.
Danett Racine This show and Terriers were great shows. What were they thinking?
May 18, 2012 at 10:38PM ESTJiggs
May 10, 2011 at 11:25PM EST Reply to Commenti'm a big fan of the Shield. This show sucked in comparison. let's not go overboard with the eulogies.
Graham I agree completely. The Shield hooked you in the very first episode, with Vic shooting Terry. CC never had anything like that, and the delivery of many of the lines really bothered me. Bad directing or bad acting? Not sure, but I think Ryan needs to stick to cable. This show seemed so watered down(for the masses).
May 11, 2011 at 12:41AM ESTJason Potapoff
May 10, 2011 at 11:31PM EST Reply to CommentAnnoying but at least it was given a full season unlike so many other network shows that weren't super hits from day 1.
Matt Z.
May 10, 2011 at 11:31PM EST Reply to Comment...And Tim Minear adds another show to his massive cancellation collection. Poor guy.
Chrissy I am 90% sure I had an IM conversation sometime in the early 2000s about a TV version of Preacher that sounded awesome.
May 10, 2011 at 11:53PM ESTI realize it was likely some weird old guy, but it's a special memory. I'm keeping it.
In closing, Tim Minear is awesome.
Benjamin Kabak u remember an IM convo from 10 years ago?
May 11, 2011 at 10:03AM ESTvelouria00
May 10, 2011 at 11:32PM EST Reply to CommentI wish I could say I was saddened by this news, but Chicago Code just never really came together.
Eldritch True, it hadn't come together yet. But to lose a slot to "Finder," which was just standard crap and so badly done to boot....
May 10, 2011 at 11:55PM ESTRP Gotta agree. I started watching this with high hopes but it slowly went to "DVR territory" and then "deleted for space" when the backlog piled up. I don't quite know what it was, but it just felt like a lot of great elements that never really came together to be a great whole.
May 10, 2011 at 11:56PM ESTdownbound
May 10, 2011 at 11:36PM EST Reply to CommentDamn, I kinda figured, but hoped that the benevolent television Gods would save The Chicago Code. I'm glad they didn't save the news for next Monday. I guess FOX did that because they didn't want this kind of news overshadowing their new fall schedule. Hopefully, NBC reports soon on Chuck also.
Rufus Jones The "benevolent TV gods" don't work at Fox. I can count the number of intelligent, non-procedural dramas they've been patient with on my "naughty bits." If they couldn't give "Lone Star" (which was really good) three episodes, this stew (which had both good points and issues) wasn't going to get re-upped.
May 11, 2011 at 6:31AM ESTdead souls Come on Rufus. Lone Star had catastrophically bad ratings. Any broadcast network would've pulled it. The numbers were so bad that Fox literally had no choice.
May 11, 2011 at 1:16PM EST
May 10, 2011 at 11:39PM EST Reply to Commentcocksucker
Jocelyn (Jake) Goddard That sums it up nicely. I loved that show!
December 21, 2011 at 11:32PM EST
May 10, 2011 at 11:39PM EST Reply to CommentThis show would be better off on HBO or TBS anyway
Kelly
May 10, 2011 at 11:42PM EST Reply to CommentReally??? I'm really pissed off!
kolobok
May 10, 2011 at 11:44PM EST Reply to Commentdamn it, i watch all 3 "Human Target," "Chicago Code" and "Lie to Me" kill all the reality shows
May 10, 2011 at 11:54PM EST Reply to CommentPity."Code" and "Target" both would make excellent - but expensive - cable shows. As "Good Guys" would've as well. Network TV is just not the place for serialized drama, or light-hearted action any more.
eddie willers
May 10, 2011 at 11:56PM EST Reply to CommentThe "Bones" tryout of "The Finder" was the most god awful hour I ever spent in front of my television.
albatross Yeah, it sucked royally. Every character virtually screamed "LOOK AT ME, I'M QUIRKY!"
May 12, 2011 at 10:03AM ESTthebgt
May 10, 2011 at 11:59PM EST Reply to Comment@@#$%^$###$%#
and I would like to add.. @$^%$%&@#%@#!
BK
May 11, 2011 at 12:01AM EST Reply to CommentFOX WHY?!?!! YOU SUCK, EVERYTHING ABOUT FOX SUCKS...YOU HAD ONE DECENT SHOW AND NOW YOU HAVE NONE...BOOO FOX!!! GEEZ MAN WHY A SPIN OFF OF BONES? THAT SHOW HAD LIKE 30 SEASONS...DAMN YOU FOX! JENNIFER BEAL, I AM SOO SORRY .... MOVE BACK TO SHOWTIME YOU'LL FIND WORK HUN!
May 11, 2011 at 12:15AM ESTkarn
May 11, 2011 at 12:06AM EST Reply to Commenti dont watch the show but ill say this:
1. it was heavily promoted
2. its got a house lead-in
3. the ratings suck
thatll get you canceled, no matter how good or bad the show is. this is what happens in tv. the show got a shot to stick and it didnt happen. on to the next on.
Ben You don't watch but yet you comment on here about it anyway? Sure you didn't watch.
May 11, 2011 at 10:05AM EST
May 11, 2011 at 12:09AM EST Reply to CommentReally unfortunate. Really felt fox was the only net with strong new programming, but the best stuff never quite got its audience, and now is falling by the wayside. Seems like the year will be a black hole as the start of good shows.
May 11, 2011 at 12:14AM EST Reply to CommentI'm very picky about what I watch. I LIKED THE CHICAGO CODE because it was so different and it gets CANCELED? REALLY? Hopefully it will be snatched up by someone else!
May 11, 2011 at 12:20AM ESTMariano
May 11, 2011 at 12:28AM EST Reply to CommentWhat the hell... !!!! I just started watching the Chicago Code.. I think it is awesome!!!!
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