"They say Chicago is the city that works. What some people never understand is, it works in a lot of different ways."
Unless you live under a rock, you have seen something hyping up the debut of The Chicago Code on FOX. Since the day that FX made the sad announcement that Terriers was not going to get a 2nd season pick up, I have been counting down the days for the new Shawn Ryan run TV show. The fact that it would be taking place in my home town was just icing on the cake. After seeing the pilot for the show this Monday, I was definitely rewarded for my patience. Now being from Chicago and also loving all of Ryan’s other shows may make me a little biased, but I thought it was one of the best pilots of this TV season.
The first thing that needs to be complemented is the use of Chicago as a back drop for the show. In movies and TV shows it has always seemed that Chicago is wasted on romantic comedies. I understand why, it is a gorgeous city with a rich history. It is also known as one of the most corrupt cities in country. It is about time that someone uses that and Shawn Ryan is the guy. The fact that it is shot on location in the windy city makes it that much better. It feels so real and gritty. One of the reasons why The Wire is the greatest cop show of all time is because of how they used Baltimore as a back drop and how real it made the rest of the show feel.
As far as performances go, there are a few really good ones to talk about her. The best has to be Delroy Lindo as the very shady Patrick Gibbons. Something about the way he is able to play slimy and venomous without doing anything outwardly wrong really struck a chord with me. Another performance I really enjoyed was that of Matt Lauria. I have really enjoyed his work on Friday Night Lights as country boy Luke, but that character is so different then a Chicago cop that I was very intrigued to see how he handled the role. The subtlety and breeziness that he is able to portray this young officer who is repeatedly shunned by his more experienced elder is very impressive.
Cop shows are usually not my thing. To me they all have the same formula. Mix 1 part cop with attitude, with 1 part sexy female love interest. Add in the case of the week ripped from the headlines of real life and you have a basic description for any procedural that is on TV. While there are aspects of TCC that seem formulaic, there is more then in enough there in terms of serialization that makes it worth everyone’s time. I give the pilot episode a 9 out of 10. Another strong outing for Shawn Ryan, Hopefully this beautiful expose on life and crime in the windy city does not just blow away.
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