Chicago Code

Chicago Code

The Chicago Code is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan (who served as Head Writer and Showrunner) that airs on Fox in the United States and Global in Canada. The series originally ran from February 7, 2011 to May 23, 2011. It will begin airing in the United Kingdom on Sky1 on May 12, 2011. It was filmed on location in Chicago, Illinois.

Fox announced it would not be renewing the show for a second season on May 10, 2011.

Starring

Jason Clarke as Jarek Wysocki—a tough Chicago Polish-American homicide detective seen as a legendary figure in the department, who hates profanity, loves the White Sox, and has a hard time finding a partner who can keep up with him on the streets of the city so he has these detectives who can't make "the cut" reassigned "at each other's mutual request." He and Colvin were partnered when starting out as officers, and they share a close friendship—he is unafraid to use that connection to take control of other officers' investigations. Wysocki continues to look for the killers of his late brother who was also a Chicago Police Officer. Wysocki is divorced, and engaged to a younger woman, but still intimate with his ex-wife.

Jennifer Beals as Teresa Colvin—Chicago's first female police superintendent. She is a very tough and ambitious officer, unafraid to challenge government officials or demote officers she sees as incompetent, even at the risk of making enemies in the department. In the pilot she reveals that her parents' business and marriage were destroyed by the corruption in the city, and she has made cleaning it up a personal task.

Matt Lauria as Caleb Evers—a young homicide detective who is Wysocki's latest partner, and impresses both Wysocki (despite the fact Evers is also a Cubs fan) and Colvin with his observational skills. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and has a pending application to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Devin Kelley as Vonda Wysocki—Jarek's niece and a rookie police officer. Her father was killed in the line of duty when she was a young child, and her uncle helped raise her and supported her through the police academy.

Todd Williams as Isaac Joiner—Vonda's partner, a young and ambitious officer whose hot-shot ways lead Wysocki to worry for his niece. It is later revealed that he is Vonda's boyfriend.

Billy Lush as Liam Hennessey—introduced as a low-level thug, later revealed as a police detective working undercover in the Irish mob.

Delroy Lindo as Alderman Ronin Gibbons—a Chicago alderman with more than twenty years in office, widely seen as the most influential figure in the city's political machine. Colvin identifies him as the main target in her anti-corruption crusade.

Plot

The series follows officers of the Chicago Police Department as they fight crime on the streets and try to expose political corruption within the city. Veteran Chicago Police Detective Jarek Wysocki leads the special unit fighting against the corruption. Wysocki was assigned to head the special unit by his boss the newly appointed first-female Chicago Police Superintendent and his one time partner, Teresa Colvin. Also on the unit is Caleb Evers, a young detective and Wysocki's latest partner. During their investigations the detectives often encounter police officers Vonda Wysocki (Jarek's niece) and Vonda's partner Isaac Joiner. Undercover officer Liam Hennessey works the streets as he gets information on the Irish mob and their connection to the corruption. Believed source of the corruption is Alderman Ronin Gibbons, a powerful and influential politician in Chicago.

Reception

The pilot received favorable reviews, scoring 75 out of 100 based on 25 professional reviews on Metacritic. James Queally of The Star-Ledger said that "Ryan's well-crafted characters are what truly carry the pilot, in what equates to an effective, but not groundbreaking, origin story. Noel Murray of The A.V. Club gave the pilot a B+, saying "the show, as a whole, makes great use of Chicago as a character, which in itself gives it a look and feel unlike other urban TV cop thrillers. IGN gave the pilot an 8.5 out of 10, noting that "Chicago Code comes off as a 'tale'. Almost as a city legend-in-the-making, with Scorsese-eque voice-overs in place, letting you know that this story, in a sense, has already happened. David Bianculli of NPR wrote that "it borrows a little from The Wire, HBO's landmark series about entrenched, corrupted city institutions, and a little from EZ Streets, the vintage Paul Haggis cop series that gave equal weight to its good guys and its bad guys. But those are great places to start.