Entertainment NOW

2 • February 2 - 8, 2014 TVWeek By Shona Dustan TV Media I t's been decades since "Cheers" begat "Frasi- er," "Beverly Hills, 90210" produced "Melrose Place" and "Happy Days" sired "Laverne and Shirley." Television spinoff series are relatively rare, successful spinoffs rarer still, and the last 20 years or so have produced some of the worst spinoffs in television history ("Joey," "The Lone Gunmen," "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 disappointed. The peacock network rolled out "Chicago PD" in January, and it's already off to a promising start. Winning 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 revolves around Sgt. Hank Voight. Voight has figured prominently in the new program's parent show, "Chicago Fire" — initially introduced as a dirty cop, he served as one of the big baddies of the first season, causing some ma- jor problems for firefighter Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer of "House" fame) and paramedic Gabri- ela Dawson (Monica Raymund, "Lie to Me"). Tem- porarily incarcerated for his nefarious 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), Show- time's "Californication"), Sgt. Hank Voight is a complex character. Since his introduction as a villain in "Chicago Fire," he hasn't stopped break- ing 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 illustrates the deals and compromises he makes in gritty detail. At the same time, though, the show takes viewers inside Voight's complicated 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 intelligence squad boasts another face that will be familiar 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. Dawson also made his first appearances on the mother show, generally characterized as a cop who will sacrifice 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 fresh- man cop-drama will put Dawson's moral fiber to the test — the man's son was abducted in the premiere episode, a plot line seemingly designed to test the limits of his character. Dawson, Voight 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 newcom- ers. As Det. Erin Lindsay, we have Sophia Bush, best known for her portrayal of Brooke Davis 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 "Partners," 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 revealed to have known Voight for many years, though she's consid- erably younger than he is, and she seems to owe him some sort of debt. She appears completely dedicated 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 Halstead in Episode 6, and she gives him the most back story she's given ev- eryone. And that's still just scratching the surface." Sounds like her fans have lots to look forward 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 eager to please his superiors and passionate about getting criminals off the street. A crossover character, Halstead has made appearances in Season 2 of "Chicago Fire" as well, and will continue to do so regularly. Another familiar face rounds out the intel- ligence team: Elias Koteas plays strange, but obviously seasoned, Det. Alvin Olinsky, a man who seems to appear out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly throughout the first few episodes of the show. He's an enigma, and thus far there are no clues as to whom his character could become — he's the one I look forward to watch- ing most. If Koteas' face is familiar to you, there's good reason. The man has had a long and illustri- ous film career playing largely secondary — but often very memorable — characters. He was the hockey stick-wielding Casey Jones in the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movies of the '90s, and was wonderful in "Harrison's Flowers" (2000), "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008) and "Shutter Island" (2010). Koteas' presence adds gravitas to the cast. Created and produced by television power- house 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 scheduled for the near future. Tune in to NBC Wednesday, Feb. 5, to catch a new episode of the cop-drama. Cover Story Jon Seda stars in "Chicago PD" Shades of Grey: NBC gets gritty with new cop drama 'Chicago PD' D - Danville V - Veedersburg H - Hoopeston O - Oakwood V - Veedersburg Ca - Cayuga Co - Covington W - Westville Communities listed Med Plus 1/16 pg

• Cover