When people think of Shawn Ryan, they think of The Shield. And when The Chicago Code (then named Ride-Along) was announced, bearing the name Shawn Ryan and cop show, of course everyone thought of The Shield. Now those who haven't watched The Shield probably don't care, and it's nearly indescribable in how amazing it is. I'd be tempted to call it a cross between The Wire and 24, but there's just so much more.
So the big question is: will The Chicago Code live up to its legacy? The first thing we have to remember is that this is network television where all sorts of regulations will limit the visual and auditory behavior of the characters. Second, network television heavily skews towards standalone episodes, and similar season-long arcs like the ones on The Shield may not be feasible.
Still, Shawn Ryan has done considerable work on network television, so he definitely knows his way around the block, and we can see that in the pilot. There's no use of coarse language, the main cops are on the straight and narrow, and the rougher side of town is given little exposure.
But this is a show about corruption, after all, and just enough tension is drawn from Alderman Gibbons (Delroy Lindo), who is immediately pinned as the "bad guy" who isn't afraid to play dirty, to let us know that this isn't a normal police procedural. With Teresa Colvin (Jennifer Beals), Jarek Wysocki (Jason Clarke), and Caleb Evers (Matt Lauria) on one side, and however many corrupt cops/city officials on the other, The Chicago Code has the setup to go beyond a mere police procedural.
Score: 9.0/10
