TVSquad Talks To "The Chicago Code" Creator Shawn Ryan about the Cancellation

[JamesG]

"Chicago Code" Creator Shawn Ryan Talks About the Show's Demise
by Maureen Ryan
posted May 13th 2011


Did you have a sense before the actual news came down... you know there are so many conflicting reports about "The Chicago Code" and what FOX was going to do.

I thought we were going to find out Friday of this week. We're filming Thursday today so this would be tomorrow.

When Kevin Riley called me today we had just handed in a document talking about what Season 2 would be like. They had asked us the previous week for this and I thought that there was hope that we're still alive. I thought they were calling to discuss Season 2 so the timing took us all by surprise.





I was sort of told early on that we premiered to 2.4; and then we dropped to 2.1, and 2.0 range for a number of weeks. The last few weeks we had dropped to the 1.8 range, and then to a 1.6, but we then jumped to a 1.7.

I don't really know what the average was for all of the 11 episodes but I knew that we'd be better off with a number in the 2s compared to a number in the 1s.





I can't say it was really a shock but I was hoping that they would look at us as a really well-made and financially responsible show with some hardcore fans that would be worthy of a pick-up; especially if some of their fall shows fail.

They saw it a different way and went a different way. Kevin explained to me and I really respect him a lot. He has to run a business and a company so... there you have it.












What was the reasoning Kevin gave to you when he called?
Kevin is an executive I really respect and has been over at FX a lot...

Yeah, he was the first person I met over at FX. He read the script for "The Shield" and helped launch that show. He really transformed me professionally and I'm eternally grateful for that. It's hard to muster up any bad feelings for him even though he's whacking my show.





I think FOX, as a network, is a little schizophrenic at the moment. You've got "American Idol" and "Glee" which really appeals to young women a lot. They have a history of shows like "24"; I don't think they want the male viewers out.

But you know for our show it was kind of tough. They've always considered the Monday night at 9pm time-slot this prime slot because it comes after "House". I've been in that time-slot with "Lie to Me" and now with "The Chicago Code" and it's always been a very difficult time-slot because you're up against "Dancing with the Stars" or another season of "The Bachelor".





We got a little bit of a break when Charlie Sheen went off of the rails (laughs) since "Two and a Half Men" is in that time-slot. We beat "The Cape" and "The Event" which NBC was behind.

I think his concern was that we were a third-place show and if we really go down into the numbers the audience was a little bit older for FOX standards, especially if you compare to "Glee", and he said that it's hard to make a show skew younger.

Younger viewers have obviously chosen "Dancing with the Stars" as their show in that slot. They have no 10pm slot to program in and they have a lot of reality shows coming up, especially with "The X Factor" in the fall.

If they had more space I would say they would have probably kept us on.












You noted that the FX research before "Terriers" even aired accurately predicted the show's audience numbers.

Was there any word out before "The Chicago Code" aired on how its audience would do?

I was told that we were tracking very well with "The Chicago Code" as opposed to "Terriers". I think that the 2.4 premiere number was a bit of a disappointment for them because they assume you would lose a good chunk of that from people who sample you early on.



Let me just say this... I think that FOX did a really good job with promoting the show. They put us on The Super Bowl.

I think that they were hoping we'd open in the 3 range and settle in the mid 2s; but instead we opened in the mid 2s and settled in the high 1s.












It's interesting to me because it seemed you were aiming for basic cable viewers, like FX and AMC and that sort of thing, with the complexity of the program.

I was wondering if that's what it was that put people off and that if it wasn't clicking with what you were trying to do?

That's a great question (laughs)... I don't know. I'd like to think that it wasn't too complex. There were other successful network cop shows like "Hill Street Blues" and "NYPD Blue" which appealed to mass audiences.

I tried really hard with the writers not to get too complicated and still bring a good deal of quality to the program. By percentage I don't think we lost that much of an audience that started out with us.





One thing that Kevin said that is very accurate is that from the beginning the show didn't generate any sort of controversy or "must-see appeal" and didn't seem like a newsworthy type of show.

I mean for "NYPD Blue" everyone's going crazy with 'Oh my God.. the nudity, the swearing...' and they weren't really but you know some stations down in The South weren't going to air this and it became a show that everyone just had to see.












Did FOX ever tell you to do some sort of big stunt to generate viewers like... assassinate the President down in Chicago?

(laughs) No.

Some shows have newsworthy quality for the subject matter, the show's star... there's no real set formula for how it works. They had seen all of our episodes before the pilot ever aired and they felt really good about it.

Maybe we got too comfortable with all of it and said 'It's a good show and people will come...' I don't know really.












Looking back would you change anything about how everything went down?
Or are you happy with everything?

Maybe I would have gone a little more serialized and pump it like 'today's going to be a big story that you have to talk about tomorrow'.

We had a few stand-alone episodes which I don't think were our strongest because it didn't have the emotional momentum of the things that had gone on before.












I know that some people are listening to this who are currently watching "The Chicago Code" and will watch FOX's remaining episodes.

Without going into major details, is the show going to have any closure or loose ends in the final episodes?

I think people will be very satisfied. There's no "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger here.

We did set it up to be open to more seasons so I can't say that every question will be answered but I believe the fans will be very satisfied.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2011/05/13/ch...-shows-demise/