Chicago PD is the first of a few different shows spun off from Chicago Fire, setting up a Chicago-based series of shows from the massive production factory of Dick Wolf (who also produces the many shows of the Law and Order franchise). As fans of Chicago Fire will know, many of the characters, including the series lead Hank Voight, played by Jason Beghe, Jay Halstead, played by Jesse Lee Soffer, and Antonio Dawson, played by Jon Seda, were introduced in season one of Chicago Fire. There, Voight was an antagonist for the crew of Station 51, so there is definitely some rehabilitating of his character, while still keeping him rough around the edges, being done. Mostly through a story arc that involves Voight helping a teenaged gang member get out and free of the gang. Voight is now leading the intelligence unit at Chicago PD which is kind of a rag-tag group that takes on all kinds of cases. Rounding out the intelligence unit is Erin Lindsay, played by Sophia Bush, Olinski, played by Elias Koteas, and Ruzek, played by Patrick Flueger. The main cast also includes Amy Morton as the gruff desk Seargent Trudy Platt, and beat cops Atwater (played by Laroyce Hawkins) and Burgess (played by Marina Sqerciati).
The show pretty much follows the case-of-the-week procedural format that shows like Hawaii Five-0, Castle, and the like have followed. Because it premiered at midseason and had a shortened run, there are not a ton of story arcs beyond Voight being pressured to work with Internal Affairs or risk going back to prison. The rest of the season is really spent on very slow character development. It is more character introduction with some hints as to their backstories, but not giving away too much too soon. The show had an official crossover episode with Chicago Fire, that involved a story that was kind of a cross between the Boston Marathon bombing and the Oklahoma City bombing events. It also continued a storyline from Law and Order SVU with some characters from that show appearing on an episode of PD. It was a good use of established shows to help out PD, yet the show was still able to stand on its own with its own characters.
Unlike the Chicago Fire DVD sets, this one does not have any behind-the-scenes material. The crossover episode with Chicago Fire and the Chicago Fire season one episode that introduced the character of Hank Voight are the only extras included.
Overall, the series is well-written and acted. It is definitely a gritty police drama and is not something that is extremely family-friendly. It has about as much violence as you would expect for this kind of show, and some sexual content, although very toned-down for network television. And they really don't push the bounds of what they could get away with on network TV with the sex. I would say they do push the bounds of network tv censors with the violence though. If you are a fan of Chicago Fire, and I would say even a fan of the Law and Order franchise, I think this is definitely worth checking out.
