The Chicago Code

Starring: Jason Clarke, Jennifer Beals, Matt Lauria, Devin Kelley, Todd Williams, Billy Lush, & Delroy Lindo

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The creators of The Shield introduced an even better show to Fox in the Spring of 2011, The Chicago Code. You probably never heard of it though, because in their infinite wisdom, Fox only gave the show three months. The rating weren't spectacular, but they weren't bad either. In June, The Chicago Code became part of Fox's mass cancellation, which saw Dollhouse, Lie To Me, Human Target, and Alcatraz gone in the blink of eye. It begs the question, did the Fox executives ever bother to watch these shows? The Chicago Code was well written, fast-paced, and featured a tremendous cast of new and established talent. If it had been on cable, I have no doubt that this show would still be on the air and at the top of the ratings.

The Chicago Code features Jennifer Beals as Superintendent, Teresa Colvin, hired by the Chicago Mayor to help clean up the police force. Colvin has greater ambitions though, as she plans on cleaning up local government and taking on the Irish mob as well. To do this, Colvin covertly puts together a team, that has the power to choose it's own cases and make a case against their prime target, Alderman Ronin Gibbons (Delroy Lindo). Gibbons has been on the city counsel for half a century and thanks to his mob connections, he is considered to be the most powerful politician in Chicago. Everyone knows he's dirty, but the hard part is proving that in a court of law.

Colvin's team is led by Detective Jarek Wysocki (Jason Clarke), who has a scarred past, that has led him to his own unique and chaotic way of doing things. Wysocki is paired with a young, ambitious, clean cut college boy, Caleb Evers (Matt Lauria), who tries to keep Wysocki in check, while putting everyone else to shame with his incredible good looks. The third member of the team is an undercover officer, who has infiltrated the mob and is trying to work his way up to the politicians. 

Every episode contains different stories that follow the shady dealings, some case the pair is working on, the fallout for the Superintendent, and of course the undercover who has an in with the wrong crowd. The stories are edgy, intelligent, and really entertaining. A lot of shows get cancelled every year, but for the life of me, I can't figure out why this show wasn't given more of a chance. The chemistry the cast has, along with the terrific writing, and edge of your seat police drama made The Chicago Code one of the best shows to come out that year.

Two years after it's cancellation, the show is still on my mind and in fact, I just recently watched it again, as it's streaming on Netflix. The story of The Chicago Code teaches us one very important thing about network television, it's all about the money! You can have an original idea, a great cast, and the most entertaining show to come along in years, but if it doesn't make more money than it costs, it's as good as gone.