The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, January 31, 2014 2 By Shona Dustan TV Media I t's been decades since "Cheers" begat "Frasier," "Beverly Hills, 90210" produced "Melrose Place" and "Happy Days" sired "La- verne and Shirley." Televi- sion spinoff series are rela- tively rare, successful spinoffs rarer still, and the last 20 years or so have pro- duced some of the worst spinoffs in television history ("Joey," "The Lone Gun- men," "Baywatch Nights" to name a few). But NBC isn't letting a few sad statistics get them down — execs and viewers alike have high hopes for this year's new spinoff series, and it looks like they won't be disap- pointed. The peacock network rolled out "Chicago PD" in January, and it's already off to a promising start. Win- ning its 10 p.m. time-slot with 8.6 million viewers for its premiere episode, the "Chicago Fire" spinoff hasn't slowed down. Check out the newest episode when it airs Wednesday, Feb. 5, on NBC. Like any good spinoff, "Chicago PD" has a back story, one that largely re- volves around Sgt. Hank Voi- ght. Voight has figured prominently in the new pro- gram's parent show, "Chica- go Fire" — initially intro- duced as a dirty cop, he served as one of the big bad- dies of the first season, caus- ing some major problems for firefighter Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer of "House" fame) and paramedic Gabri- ela Dawson (Monica Ray- mund, "Lie to Me"). Tempo- rarily incarcerated for his ne- farious activities, the end of Season 1 of "Chicago Fire" finds Voight out and heading up his very own intelligence unit for the Chicago Police Department. Played by veteran film and television actor Jason Beghe ("Thelma & Louise" (1991), Showtime's "Californica- tion"), Sgt. Hank Voight is a complex character. Since his introduction as a villain in "Chicago Fire," he hasn't stopped breaking the rules or cutting the corners that made him seem so corrupt. Far from it. In fact, "Chicago PD" fleshes out Voight's shady exploits and illus- trates the deals and compro- mises he makes in gritty de- tail. At the same time, though, the show takes viewers inside Voight's com- plicated world, and while it never excuses the choices he makes, this perspective goes a long way to explaining why the sergeant is the way he is. Good cop and bad cop all rolled into one, fans of the show can look forward to a lot of shades of grey when it comes to Sgt. Voight — a welcome change from the standard good-guys- hunting-bad-guys police procedural template. Voight's hand-picked in- telligence squad boasts an- other face that will be famil- iar to any "Chicago Fire" fans out there. Jon Seda ("12 Monkeys" (1995), HBO's "Treme") plays Antonio Dawson, brother to the aforementioned paramedic, Gabriela Dawson. Det. Daw- son also made his first ap- pearances on the mother show, generally character- ized as a cop who will sacri- fice anything but his morals to put bad guys behind bars. He's an interesting choice for Voight, who's Dawson's moral opposite. It seems, though, that the freshman cop-drama will put Daw- son's moral fiber to the test — the man's son was ab- ducted in the premiere epi- sode, a plot line seemingly designed to test the limits of his character. Dawson, Voi- ght and the rest of the team work tirelessly to retrieve the boy, an experience that will no doubt both test and solidify relationships within the team. The unit also consists of a few relative newcomers. As Det. Erin Lindsay, we have Sophia Bush, best known for her portrayal of Brooke Da- vis for all nine seasons of the hit drama "One Tree Hill." Bush has appeared in a few television shows over the years ("Nip/Tuck" and "Part- ners," for example), as well as some feature films such as "Stay Alive" (2006) and "The Hitcher" (2007). Det. Lindsay is a bit of a mystery as the show opens. She is re- vealed to have known Voi- ght for many years, though she's considerably younger than he is, and she seems to owe him some sort of debt. She appears completely ded- icated to the man she works for, but somehow comes across far more wholesome than he does. Describing the revelation of her character's murky past, Bush said to Hollywoodlife: "It won't happen quickly. It'll happen in layers. There's some great stuff with Lindsay and Hal- stead in Episode 6, and she gives him the most back sto- ry she's given everyone. And that's still just scratching the surface." Sounds like her fans have lots to look for- ward to. Jesse Lee Soffer ("In Time" 2011, Fox's now de- funct "The Mob Doctor") plays young Det. Jay Hal- stead, Det. Lindsay's partner and a relative rookie looking to earn his stripes. He's ea- ger to please his superiors and passionate about get- ting criminals off the street. A crossover character, Hal- stead has made appearanc- es in Season 2 of "Chicago Fire" as well, and will con- tinue to do so regularly. Created and produced by television powerhouse Dick Wolf, this new series holds lots of promise. Wolf is best known as the father of the "Law & Order" series, and rumor has it there are "Law & Order"/"Chicago PD" crossover episodes sched- uled for the near future. Tune in to NBC Wednesday, Feb. 5, to catch a new episode of the cop-drama. Chirstopher's Coins 2 x 2 coverstory Jon Seda stars in "Chicago PD" Shades of grey NBC gets gritty with new cop drama 'Chicago PD' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Is "Bates Motel" going to come back on? I have not seen anything about it. A: It has been a while since we've seen a new episode of "Bates Motel," but fortunately in this case that means we're just that much closer to seeing one. Season 2 of the highly ac- claimed series premieres March 3 on A&E. That matches last season's run, which premiered March 18, meaning you can be forgiven for worrying (Season 1 ended in May — nine months ago). However, it seems that picking up the thriller series for a second season was a no-brainer for the network — the an- nouncement was made on April 8, after just three episodes had aired. It was clear early on that the series was a hit. The show's premiere had the highest ratings among adults 18 to 49 (the demographic most sought after by advertisers) for a drama series in the network's history. The series is a sort of prequel to the classic horror film "Psy- cho," showing how Norman Bates and his mother, Norma, come to own the titular motel. Having such legendary source material certainly helped the show towards its success, but so did the team that makes it. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A A/Krazy Tom's B/State Farm- Melisa Manikas 2 x 3