One of the most popular and longest-running franchises on network TV
is One Chicago on NBC, which started when Derek Haas and Michael Brandt
created Chicago Fire and released it in the fall of 2012, and was consecutively
followed by three spinoffs — Chicago PD, Chicago Med, and Chicago Justice. Every show in the One Chicago shared universe has had varying degrees of success. Some TV series have performed better than others, while one in particular was an epic fail many would rather forget about. Nevertheless, NBC’s procedural franchise has prevailed over the years, resulting in major milestones and impressive accomplishments.Each installment in the One Chicago franchise takes place in Chicago, Illinois, and revolves around different public service factions. All the show’s names refer to their specified public service — Fire depicts the firefighters and paramedics at Firehouse 51; PD focuses on the Intelligence Unit at the Chicago Police Department’s 21st District; Med centers around the doctors and nurses working in the emergency department at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center; and Justice follows the prosecutors and investigators at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Over the years, One Chicago has continued to dominate despite consistent cast exits and has maintained strong ratings.
The last place ranking of the One Chicago TV shows is the easiest as Chicago Justice is inarguably the worst out of the four. Chicago Justice, created by Dick Wolf and developed by Derek Haas, Michael Brandt, and Matt Olmstead, is the franchise’s third spinoff and premiered in March 2017 after its backdoor pilot (Chicago PD season 3, episode 21) aired in May 2016. The legal drama only ran for 13 episodes before NBC canceled it after one season, referencing its disappointing ratings, lack of sustainability, and taking up space in the network’s lineup as reasons for its ending.
Despite the characters in Chicago Justice being played by notable names (Philip Winchester as Assistant State’s Attorney Peter Stone, Joelle Carter as Investigator Laura Nagel, and Carl Weathers as Cook County State’s Attorney Mark Jefferies), the series didn’t attract the attention it needed to survive. The producers also transferred Jon Seda, who portrayed Antonio Dawson, from the main cast of Chicago PD to Chicago Justice to try to reel in the franchise’s existing audience. However, the NBC TV show’s dull stories and characters failed to gain and sustain a large following, resulting in its cancelation.
Chicago Justice‘s shortened run was undoubtedly disappointing for NBC and the One Chicago producers. The series only had one season, while the three preceding shows have all made it to their tenth seasons and have released over 200 episodes (Chicago Med currently sits at 176 episodes after season 9’s release, but it’ll likely make it to 200). The legal drama crashed and burned epically, which might be why NBC hasn’t attempted to develop another spinoff. Whatever the case, there is a significant divide between the fourth-place ranking and the top three of the best One Chicago series, and it’s not close.
