Fox has given "The Chicago Code" the ax after one season. Show creator and Rockford native Shawn Ryan revealed the news to hitflix.com Tuesday night and later tweeted "Fox suits loved the show, but have a business to run." Ryan believes the Chicago police drama's last two episodes will air as scheduled.
Although the cancellation isn't a complete surprise given the show's lackluster ratings since debuting in February, Ryan still held out hope on Monday. "Tonight is the last new episode before Fox decides if we get a 2nd Season," Ryan tweeted. "Now's the time to recruit viewers."
The series, which starred Jennifer Beals and Delroy Lindo, began filming on location in Chicago last year, making it the first television series to shoot regularly in the city since A&E's "The Beast."
(Showtime's Chicago-based dramedy, "Shameless," also films in the city, but only its exterior scenes.)
Chicago Film Office director Rich Moskal estimated in January that the series contributed $25 million to the local economy and said the show benefitted the city in ways feature films couldn't. “TV shows offer different types of benefits — longer-term benefits," Moskal said. "They're filming almost nine months out of the year. It puts people to work longer. And a series can run multiple seasons."
Chicago's next hope for a TV series could be "The Playboy Club," the NBC pilot which filmed here in March and revolves around the opening of the first Playboy Club in the 1960's, and "Boss," the Starz pilot which is currently filming here and features Kelsey Grammer as the Mayor of Chicago.