After the recent three-part crossover between all of NBC’s Chicago shows – Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med – rumors started swirling that a fourth show could be added to the franchise: Chicago Law. At the Television Critic’s Association this past January, Dick Wolf added fuel to the fire, saying there was a chance the fourth show could be added to the franchise.
On Jan. 21, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Chicago Law (the show’s tentative title) was in the works at NBC, meaning executive producer Dick Wolf will have five shows on NBC – Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, Chicago Law and the long-running Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
Hints of Chicago Law being ordered to series were first dropped in early January during the Chicago P.D. episode of the three-part crossover between the shows, when lawyers were trying the case of a doctor who was misdiagnosing people with cancer and overdosing them on chemotherapy.
While the show is still in development at NBC, casting has already started on the show. The first lead for the show will be played by Philip Winchester, who was last seen on NBC’s show The Player, according to The Wrap.
While the Chicago shows typically do one big crossover event between the three shows once a season, characters from the different shows pop up for a scene or two for many different parts of the episodes. Some of the paramedics from Chicago Fire have shown up on Chicago Med when they’ve been bringing in patients to the hospital. One of the characters on Chicago Fire is in a relationship with a character on Chicago P.D.
According to E! Online, the new deal between NBC and Wolf will have him working with the network through 2020.
In addition to the Chicago franchise, Wolf is also famous for starting the Law and Order franchise, which consisted of shows Law and Order, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Law and Order: Los Angeles, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Law and Order: Trial by Jury.
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit is the only show from the Law and Order franchise that is still on air.
When the shows return next season, Chicago Fire will be in its fifth season, Chicago P.D. will be in its fourth season, Chicago Med will be in its second season and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit will be in its eighteenth season, making it the longest running scripted drama currently on the air.