Fade Out: 13 is enough for ‘The Chicago Code’

Frank Micelotta/Fox

Every year, fans of entertaining but often low-rated shows spend the month of May biting their nails, waiting to hear the fate of their favorite show. If the news is good, they rejoice and get on with their day. If the news is bad, there are wailing, gnashing of teeth, and idle threats directed at network management.

But not every show is designed to last forever. In fact, American television is rife with examples of shows that have far outlived their creative purpose. They linger because execs know it’s easier to sell us something we’re already familiar with than try to get us into something new. Plus, they would like to syndicate these shows and continue to make money off of them, potentially forever.

Other countries don’t suffer from this problem. The obvious example is England, where television is entirely state-funded and series often run just a few short seasons, long enough to tell a story to its natural endpoint and get out before it gets ugly. Compare, if you’d like, the British and American versions of The Office.

There was a show I fell for this winter, and it did get the ax in May. But I wasn’t sad to see it go, especially after watching its satisfying finale. Fox’s The Chicago Code was a new cop tale from Shawn Ryan (The Shield, Terriers). It chronicled the city’s first female superintendent, Teresa Colvin (Jennifer Beals), who was on a mission to bring down a corrupt alderman (Delroy Lindo).

The show lasted just 13 episodes, and waffled creatively a couple times as it strung out a season-long narrative featuring a task force led by Colvin’s former partner (Jason Clarke) and an undercover cop (Billy Lush) working the inside to help bring down the Irish mob.

But by the tense final episodes, the show had built to a thrilling and satisfying climax, complete with a few last-minute twists and turns to keep everyone wondering if Superintendent Colvin would get her man.

It wasn’t dramatically different from many other cop shows. But it quickly set about establishing a mood and delivering the season arc bit by bit, until it was all laid out. In fact, the finale did such a good job of wrapping up the season’s loose ends that I’m hard pressed to imagine how the show would organically evolve in a second season.

Sure, they could come up with new ways to keep Clarke and his new partner busy, or throw obstacles at the relationship between two partners who were dating. But reaching for story material like this would only detract from the overall quality and success of what will ultimately be the show’s only season.

I have to give the writers credit for not ending the season on a cliffhanger, in a ploy to hold the network hostage for a renewal. The cast and crew did a phenomenal job, and the Chicago location shoots only helped add to the ambiance. All these people are sure to find work again.

Unfortunately, Fox has abandoned plans to air repeats of the show over the summer, and thus The Chicago Code is probably destined to become a streaming and DVD classic, much beloved years after its original broadcast.

That seems to be the theme this year for poor Shawn Ryan, who also saw his cult PI series Terriers canceled after a single season. Here’s hoping Ryan continues to tell great stories, for however long they are allowed to run. And don’t hold your breath, but here’s hoping that networks take notice of how well this show worked as a 13-episode wonder.