Spoiler Free Advance Review: Chicago P.D. – “Stepping Stone,” “Wrong Side of the Bars,” and “Chin Check.”

Season 1, Episodes 1-3

Air Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2014, 10/9c on NBC

Rating: ★★★★★

“You tell me the truth so I can lie for you. And if you ever go over my head, it’ll be the last head you go over.” – Sgt. Hank Voigt

CHICAGO PD — Season: 1 — Pictured: (l-r) LaRoyce Hawkins as Officer Kevin Atwater, Archie Kao as Sheldon Jin, Marina Squerciati as Officer Kim Burgess, Jon Seda as Det. Antonio Dawson, Jason Beghe as Sgt. Hank Voight, Sophia Bush as Det. Erin Lindsay, Jesse Lee Soffer as Det. Jay Halstead, Patrick Flueger as Det. Adam Ruzek, Elias Koteas as Det. Alvin Olinksy

After watching Jason Beghe play dirty cop Hank Voigt on Chicago Fire last season, I was happily anticipating his spin-off series, Chicago P.D. (CPD). I enjoyed the tension between his character and Matthew Casey, the well-liked firefighter played by Jesse Spencer on the original series. The scenes between the two were always highly charged, and you never knew what either character was going to do. It was the stuff legendary dramatic scenes, and hopefully spin-offs, are made of.

But spin-offs don’t always succeed. Take, for example, Joey, a spin-off of the highly popular series, Friends; The Finder, spun off from Bones; The Tortellis, an NBC spin-off based on Carla’s (Rhea Perlman) husband on Cheers; The Lone Gunmen, which didn’t fare quite as well as its parent series, The X Files; and After MASH, the MASH sequel that barely lasted two seasons. Of course, some spin-offs have fared quite well: Frasier out of Cheers; CSI: Miami and CSI: New York out of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Knots Landing from the original Dallas; Private Practice from Grey’s Anatomy; and NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles, both from JAG, just to name a few. One can only wonder into which category Chicago P.D. will eventually fall.

Chicago P.D. is, according to NBC, “a riveting police drama about the men and women of the Chicago Police Department’s District 21. The district is made up of the uniformed cops who patrol the beat, and the Intelligence Unit that combats the city’s major offenses — organized crime, drug trafficking, high-profile murders and beyond.” However, after screening the first three episodes of Chicago P.D., I am unable to agree with NBC’s description of the show as “riveting.” Interesting? Sure—in parts.

Jason Beghe as Sgt. Hank Voigt in “Stepping Stone,” episode 101

Beghe reprises his role as Voigt although now he is a sergeant who is in charge of the district’s Intelligence Unit. As shown in Chicago Fire, and now in CPD, he doesn’t think twice about crossing the line between being a good cop and a bad one. He does whatever is necessary to get the job done. The quote I began this review with perfectly explains who Voigt is when he stands before his unit giving them instructions as they are about to go out on the streets to capture a notorious Columbian drug dealer.

Beghe is joined by Jon Seda, who plays Detective Antonio Dawson. Helping them are partners Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), a young detective, and Detective Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush), who has a very personal connection with Voigt, although not the kind you may be picturing right about now.

The precinct also includes undercover detective Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas); cadet Kyle Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger), who is fresh out of the police academy; uniformed patrol officers Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) and Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati); as well as Sheldon Jin (Archie Kao), the neat and meticulous detective in charge of surveillance and tech ops.

Pictured: (l-r) Jason Beghe as Hank Voight, Sophia Bush as Erin Lindsay in “Stepping Stone”

It will be interesting to see whether Voigt will be capable of playing nice with his counterparts at District 21, who neither like nor trust him. Good cops don’t appreciate cops who take the law into their own hands to get the results they want, and while it hasn’t been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that Voigt is, indeed, a bad cop, it sure does look that way. The mystery here revolves around how Voigt got out of prison (which happened on Chicago Fire) and landed on his feet with this command. There is more to the story, which is alluded to at the end of the second episode, “Wrong Side of the Bars.” It is quite a twist and should entice viewers to tune in to the next episode.

I am hoping that as time goes on, this cast will meld and the writers will give us a reason to care about each and every one of them. At this point, I don’t care whether any of these characters lives or dies. You would think that after watching three episodes, there would be at least one character I would be interested in but sadly, that isn’t the case. Usually, with ensemble shows like this, each character has its own ‘hook,’ so to speak—something that makes them stand out from the others. L&O:SVU, Graceland, and Southland come to mind. Sadly, that is not the case with CPD. There is nothing particularly interesting about any of the characters, and I am hoping that will change for the sake of the show because without that, there is little reason to watch week after week—especially given the overacting by some of the actors in all three episodes.

I know real life Chicago P.D. officers are consulting on the show so I am a bit surprised at some of the things I found to be not so true-to-life. For instance, I have never heard the expression “the long guns” when referring to rifles, AK-47s, and such. And maybe I’m nitpicking but pawn shop records aren’t immediately produced for cops who walk in demanding to see them without a search warrant. And finally, when I think of the elaborate plans that go into undercover work—in real life and as shown on such series as Graceland, 21 Jump Street, and New York Undercover—it angers me that the writers of Chicago P.D. make everything seem so easy, such as the various drug buys the cops set up. It seems to me the writing staff is phoning it in, hoping the show will succeed based on who its executive producer is—the Emmy® award-winning Dick Wolf. After all, he is responsible for so many critically acclaimed TV series but one producer does not a show make.

Jesse Lee Soffer as Det. Jay Halstead in “Stepping Stone”

Wolf is also famous for using crossover episodes with his shows and Chicago P.D. is no exception. In the series premiere, “Stepping Stone,” we see some familiar faces from Chicago Fire. I understand there will be another crossover episode with two of the detectives from Law & Order: SVU that will air sometime in February after the Winter Olympics. L&O:SVU is slated to be the lead-in to this new series and with its high ratings, it will be interesting to see whether NBC will be able to retain the viewership for CPD.

There is one thing CPD does right. Each episode ends with a cliffhanger interesting enough to make you want to tune in to find out what happens next. With “Stepping Stone,” it is the kidnapping of the son of one of the cops. With “Wrong Side of the Bar,” the cliffhanger has to do with Voigt’s jail stint and where he is now in his professional life, as does “Chin Check.” This particular cliffhanger, however, reminds me of Blue Bloods where a secret police society, the Order of the Blue Templar, was often mentioned as something sinister in the past of the Reagan family but it never came to fruition. To me, it was a failed plot point. I hope Voigt’s new relationship doesn’t fall prey to the same thing because so far, including this doesn’t make any sense to me. I hope I’m wrong.

So, the big question behind CPD is whether Voigt is a good cop or a bad cop. Everything seems to point to the latter until he is shown trying to help a young black kid who is mixed up with a gang. Apparently, not everything is so black and white in Voigt’s world. He apparently lives in the gray area, which often can be an interesting and exciting place to be. Let’s hope Chicago P.D. gets there before losing the fandom Chicago Fire has provided.

Chicago P.D. premieres Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 10/9c, only on NBC. For more information on the show, visit its official website at http://www.nbc.com/chicago-pd/.

Follow the series on Twitter using hashtag #ChicagoPD, as well as these cast mates: @SophieBush, @JonSeda, @RoycedaVoyce, @jesseleesoffer, @ArchieKao, @ EliasKoteas, and @Marinasqu.

Follow Chicago P.D. on Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumbler, and Like the show on Facebook.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!