TheChicagotelevision franchise, also known asOne Chicago, originated on NBC in 2012 with the debut of the procedural drama television seriesChicago Fire, which eventually became NBC’s second-highest-rated drama series behindThis Is Us.Chicago Firewas followed in 2014 by the firstChicagospin-off series,Chicago P.D., and then in 2015 byChicago Med, which was renewed in March 2024 for a 10th season.
Following the successful debut ofChicago Med, theChicagofranchise, which presently averages approximately seven million viewers per episode for each of the franchise’s three shows, seemed poised to rivalChicagofranchise producer Dick Wolf’sLaw & Orderfranchisein terms of launching successful spin-off shows. However, unlike theLaw & Orderfranchise, noChicagoseries had been canceled prior to 2017.
In 2017, the fourth installment in theChicagofranchise,Chicago Justice, debuted on NBC.Chicago Justice, which originated as a 2016 backdoor pilot within the third season ofChicago P.D., follows the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office’s team of investigators and prosecutors, who must navigate Chicago politics, the legal arena, and the media while pursuing justice. However, despite its strong pedigree and various crossover connections withChicago FireandChicago P.D.,Chicago Justiceonly lasted 13 episodes and therefore became an outlier within theChicagofranchise as the first and thus far only Chicago series to fail.
Chicago Justice
Chicago Justice Is Too Similar To Law & Order
With its focus on the legal system,Chicago Justice, which was created byLaw & Orderfranchise creator Dick Wolf, was inevitably compared toLaw & Order, especially since the two franchises belong to the same television universe. To offset this, Wolf changed the title of the newChicagoshow from its original title,Chicago Law, toChicago Justicefor the purpose of separating the show from theLaw & Orderuniverse.
However, despite Wolf’s determined attempts to create distance betweenChicago JusticeandLaw & Order,the obvious and perceived similarities betweenChicago JusticeandLaw & Orderultimately madeChicago Justiceexpendable on NBC’s schedule, especially with three other existingChicagoshows.
The unavoidable link betweenChicago JusticeandLaw & Orderis highlighted by the shared presence of actor Philip Winchester, who stars inChicago Justiceas Assistant State Attorney Peter Stone, the son of former New York City Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Stone, played by Michael Moriarty on the originalLaw & Orderseries for four seasons between 1990 and 1994.
Following the cancelation ofChicago Justice, Winchester, who next appeared as Stone in a 2017 episode ofChicago Medand previously appeared as Stone in three episodes ofChicago P.D.between 2016 and 2017, joined the cast ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit, in which Stone appeared as a New York City assistant district attorney over two seasons between 2019 and 2020.
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Chicago Justice Was the Lowest-Rated Chicago Series
The primary reason why NBC decided to go ahead with a fourth series intheChicagofranchisein 2016 was because the previous three shows had, to varying degrees, been ratings successes, led by the franchise’s mother show,Chicago Fire, which became one of the network’s highest-rated shows. While the ratings forChicago Justicecertainly weren’t terrible throughout the show’s 13-episode run,the show’s ratings were below those of the other threeChicagoshows.
In the all-important 18-to-49 demographic,Chicago Justice, which averaged a 1.6 rating in this demographic, lagged nearly one point behindChicago Fireand was also far behindChicago P.D.andChicago Med. However, while the ratings forChicago Justiceweren’t nearly as good as those of the otherChicagoshows, they were better than those of several NBC shows that were ultimately renewed, such as theJennifer Lopez cop showShades of BlueandTaken.
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The Chicago Franchise Became Overcrowded
One of the main reasons for the cancelation ofChicago Justiceis that NBC felt that fourChicagoshows were one more than the network needed and viewers wanted.As the fourthChicagoshow to arrive,Chicago Justicewas doomed by its very existence.
As the fourthChicagoshow, and given its obvious resemblance toLaw & Order,Chicago Justicewas the easiestChicagoshow for NBC to sacrifice amid difficult scheduling choices. In explaining the cancelation ofChicago Justice,NBC Chairman Robert Greenblatt said that while there was no issue with the quality ofChicago Justice, sustaining fourChicagoshows on its schedule became impractical for the network.
Ultimately,Chicago Justicewas perceived, by NBC and viewers, as being a redundant show, as evidenced by the show’s lackluster ratings. The various crossovers that have taken place within theChicagofranchise since the 2017 cancelation ofChicago Justice, combined with the 2022 revival of the originalLaw & Orderseries, have further contributed toChicago Justicebecoming an increasingly forgotten and inessential part of theChicagofranchise. Needless to say, this makes the idea of aChicago Justicereboot seem remote and unnecessary.
