The Chicago Code isn’t just a great TV crime drama, it’s one of the most underappreciated shows ever. That’s why it’s our pick for Crime-mas Day 13.
The Chicago Code is a must-watch TV crime drama, which we really should not be talking about in the past tense. It’s that rare show where you will be on the edge of your seat from the first minute till the last.
From the mind of Shawn Ryan (The Shield), the series is one of the smartest, grittiest crime dramas in years. It combines one ongoing storyline that tracks throughout the season with cases of the week, so that no matter what you watch a show for, you’ll find something to connect with. It’s still a shame that FOX pulled the plug on it after just one season.
Missed it when it originally aired? Here’s why you need to have The Chicago Code on your watch list:
An amazing pedigree
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The Chicago Code hails from Shawn Ryan, and was his first TV crime drama since The Shield. He also gave us The Unit, Timeless and Last Resort, so that alone should be a reason to find it on iTunes or Amazon Video.
Ryan is a fantastic writer, and he builds a genuinely compelling mystery at the heart of the show. It’s not easy to pull off a season-long plotline, but he does it and does it better than just about anyone who’s ever tried.
He also pulls no punches; this show makes Chicago PD look like children’s TV. And it will make you look at any other crime show differently because of how well-executed it is.
The outstanding cast
Like Shawn Ryan’s other shows, The Chicago Code is impeccably cast. Jennifer Beals (The L Word) leads the ensemble as Superintendent Teresa Colvin, but the breakout star was a then still mostly unknown Jason Clarke, in what would be his last TV show before he exploded into a bona fide movie star.
Clarke plays Detective Jarek Wysocki, with Matt Lauria (Kingdom) as his fresh-faced new partner Caleb Evers. Jarek’s niece Vonda is the patrol cop, played by Devin Kelley (Resurrection), and her partner slash boyfriend is Isaac Joiner (Todd Williams). Billy Lush and Delroy Lindo round out the main cast as street thug Liam Hennessey and the villainous, awesomely named Ronin Gibbons.
But keep your eyes peeled for some other great actors in smaller roles, like Manny Montana of Good Girls and Graceland in a key part early on.
What is The Chicago Code about?
The Chicago Code follows Teresa Colvin, newly elected as the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, and on a mission to take down corruption in her home city. That corruption primarily is in the form of Alderman Ronin Gibbons, who is the most powerful politician in town.
To take him off the board, Teresa turns to her old partner Jarek Wysocki and his new partner Caleb Evers, who work with her while they also deal with their daily beat. Teresa and Jarek slowly build a case against Gibbons and his associates, as each have their own battles to fight at different levels of power.
Why should you watch?
Why shouldn’t you? This show is almost entirely perfect in every way, both on and off-camera. It has a few blemishes—the subplot of Jarek cheating on his fiancee with his ex-wife adds nothing to the show and gets tedious after a while—but they’re minor at best.
The cast is uniformly great, and the way it builds to its finale is amazing. Every TV show wants to have a huge finale, especially those with ongoing storylines, but The Chicago Code is one that does deliver on that promise. (And yes, even though the season finale is also the series finale, there is a payoff for those of you who worry about that sort of thing.)
Episodes to watch
New viewers should definitely start with the Chicago Code pilot. It’s one of the best pilots of all time; not only does it set up the characters and the serialized storyline, but it’s a geninely powerful episode.
That plot continues in episode two, “Hog Butcher,” where Jarek is hot on the trail of a cop killer and Teresa has to deal with the fallout (both professional and moreso emotional) from the death. It’s a heartbreaker, and one that has more depth to it than most of the usual character-death stories we see on other shows.
From there, you’ll be addicted. This is a series that thunders along all the way to its conclusion, and never should have been cancelled in the first place.
What do you think of The Chicago Code? Which TV crime dramas are making your list for the 25 Days of Crime-mas? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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