On May 22, 2017, NBC canceled the series after one season, making it the first series in the Chicago franchise to end.[1] After the show ended, Philip Winchester's character Peter Stone became a regular on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit where Chernuchin became showrunner, while Jon Seda's character Antonio Dawson returned to Chicago P.D. The show averaged a 1.5 rating (adults 18–49, Live+7) in comparison to 1.9 for Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med, with Chicago Fire receiving a 2.3 rating that season.[1] Despite the show performing marginally better than Shades of Blue and Taken, NBC executives stated it was canceled due to sustainability and space for other programs.[2]
Premise
Set in Chicago, Chicago Justice follows the State's Attorney team of prosecutors and investigators who work to bring justice to victims.
Joelle Carter as Investigator Laura Nagel. Also a former Chicago police officer like Dawson, Nagel left the force and developed an addiction to painkillers after a line-of-duty injury. She has been clean for months and is now struggling to regain custody of her daughter.
Monica Barbaro as Assistant State's Attorney Anna Valdez, Stone's second chair.
Assistant State's Attorney Peter Stone and Chief Investigator Antonio Dawson prepare to prosecute the suspect responsible for the warehouse fire. When the suspect's supposed confession is deemed inadmissible and the defense prevents a cross-examination of the defendant by Stone, the State's Attorney's office must find a motive and bring justice to both the victims and their families.
This episode concludes a crossover with Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. that begins on "Deathtrap" and continues on "Emotional Proximity." It is included on the Chicago Fire Season 5 and Chicago P.D. Season 4 DVD sets.
After a suspect dies in custody, Dawson is put into an uncomfortable situation when the State's Attorney's office begins accusing Officer Kevin Atwater (guest star LaRoyce Hawkins) of using excessive force when apprehending the man accused of drug dealing. Subsequently, Stone is forced to charge Atwater with murder.
3
"See Something"
Fred Berner
Story by : Dick Wolf & Michael S. Chernuchin Teleplay by : Michael S. Chernuchin
The State's Attorney's office is in a sensitive situation when a Muslim graduate student is found brutally murdered. Stone and Valdez try to convict a prejudiced frat member but find he was set up, leading Dawson and Nagel to arrest the victim's best friend. During the trial, the best friend admits to the killing, but claims it was because he found out the victim was plotting a major terrorist attack, leaving Stone and Valdez to question whether this was a heroic act or a cold-blooded homicide.
Valdez is in hot water when she witnesses the murder of a popular judge after having drinks with him at a bar. Stone questions Valdez's relationship with the victim and, when she does not give him a straight answer, he refuses to allow her to work the case. In court, the team unearths the killer as the ex-husband of a rape victim whose attacker was given a lenient sentence by the judge.
The team investigates the brutal murder of a Navy SEAL veteran. Stone and Valdez discover at the autopsy that the victim ingested a flash drive containing classified information about a botched Navy mission in which he was involved. Jeffries, a military veteran, forbids Stone from using the video as evidence, causing friction between the two.
Dawson and Nagel investigate the murder of a Chicago police officer. They initially ruled it a suicide because the officer had cancer, but the medical examiner found that the victim had a broken neck. Stone and Valdez determine that the prime suspect was previously exonerated for deadly arson.
Nagel and Dawson are disturbed when they investigate the brutal murder of a pregnant woman whose unborn baby was cut from her stomach. Stone and Valdez begin to prosecute the person involved. Soon after, the evidence points to the killer being related to a serial killer that Stone put away. Meanwhile, Nagel files a petition for joint custody of her daughter.
After a guilty verdict is handed down, a juror on the case is found dead in a lake. The team investigates and discovers that she actually committed suicide because she was being cyber stalked and heavily harassed. Stone does everything in his power to bring the person responsible to justice.
The State's Attorney's office investigates the murder of a college student, and their prime suspect is a college student who was acquitted of murdering her boyfriend in Spain. Stone digs deeper and thinks it might not be her.
An innocent child is caught in the crossfire of an escalating gang war. The State's Attorney's office investigates and discovers that both gangs use social media to fuel their battles. Stone makes a controversial decision to try to shut off the members' smartphones.
The team investigates the murder of an Anti-Environmental Alderman who was murdered in a hit and run accident. Dawson and Nagel try to find the person responsible but have trouble finding any witnesses. Valdez discovers that the driver was a mother frantically trying to find her kidnapped daughter, but later finds out it was a scam. Meanwhile, Dawson runs into Sylvie Brett (guest star Kara Killmer) during the investigation and thinks about their former relationship.
The team investigates the shooting of a man left for dead, but is road blocked by detectives (guest star Dylan Walsh) working the same case. Later, Nagel reveals that the victim was her confidential informant, and Stone bars her from working the case because she is too close to it.
The State's Attorney's office investigates a deadly crane accident that took out half a building and killed a man below in his car. Nagel grows suspicious when the victim is identified to be the son-in-law of a powerful real estate developer who owns the building that collapsed.
Production
Development
The show was confirmed on January 21 during the 2016 Television Critics Association winter press tour, with the working title Chicago Law.[19] By March 11, the title was changed to Chicago Justice.[20] Filming began on March 28 for the backdoor pilot that aired on May 11 as the 21st episode of the third season of Chicago P.D.[21] The pilot is partially based on historical events and is based on a true story.[22] On May 12, 2016, a day after the backdoor pilot aired on Chicago P.D., NBC gave the show a series order.[23] The series premiered on March 1, 2017, concluding a crossover with Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.[24] It then ran in its scheduled time slot beginning March 5, 2017.[25]
Casting
Philip Winchester was the first to be cast on February 19, 2016, as Peter Stone, the prosecutor who put Voight in prison years ago.[26][27] His father is Benjamin Stone, an assistant district attorney on the first four seasons of Law & Order.[28]Nazneen Contractor joined the series on March 11, 2016,[20] and Joelle Carter on March 14, 2016.[29]Rocky alum Carl Weathers joined the cast on March 19 as Cook County State's Attorney Mark Jefferies,[30] while Ryan-James Hatanaka was added to the cast on March 24.[31]Lorraine Toussaint reprised her role in the pilot as defense attorney Shambala Green, who appeared in seven episodes of Law & Order.[32] Contractor exited the show on July 7, 2016, to join the cast of the CBS police procedural drama Ransom.[33] On August 25, 2016, Monica Barbaro was added to the cast.[34] On September 28, it was reported that Jon Seda's character Antonio Dawson would move from P.D. to Justice, where Antonio would become an investigator for the State's Attorney's office. With this move, Hatanaka departed the series.[35]Richard Brooks reprised his Law & Order role of Paul Robinette in the episode "Uncertainty Principle".[36]Tovah Feldshuh appeared on the premiere episode as her Law & Order character Danielle Melnick who has become a judge.
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 70% approval rating, with an average rating of 5.21 out of 10 based on 10 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "Chicago Justice's first season won't sway procedural nonbelievers, but for fans of the franchise, it marks another solid entry that should satisfy faithful viewers and newcomers alike."[37] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the show scored 57 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating generally "mixed or average reviews".[38]
Ratings
Overall
Viewership and ratings per season of Chicago Justice
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