The Chicago Code was a new TV show that just came out this winter on Fox that turned out to be a very short lived one. I admit that one of the main reasons that I watched this show was because it was shot in my current hometown and it had a very "Chicago" feel to it with the characters and the landmarks that were represented. It was still a very solid police drama, however, and the themes of taking down corruption and the complex characters provided a needed twist on a very stale genre. The viewership was not terrible, but it was nothing groundbreaking either and the show received solid critical reviews. All of this would seem to lead to the show being renewed for at least one more season by Fox, but unfortunately it did not. The reason behind this is obvious and it has everything to do with money. Instead of picking up this show, that has to pay writers and actors, Fox will continue to stick with their reality TV lineup, and since the show did not bring in a large enough viewership, they don't think that it is worth it to renew a solid new cop drama. Another factor that goes into Fox's decision is probably that Chicago Code was shot on location in Chicago, which adds to the cost of the show, rather than it being shot in a studio in LA. In any case I wish that Fox would have given the Code another chance next season, as I think that with a little more advertisement, they could have brought in a lot of viewers.
I never once saw the show, but my best friend was an avid viewer. She became a full blow fan catching up every week and she too as equally as disappointed when it didn't get picked up for another season. I think that the obvious ratings came from Chicago viewers for the reason that we don't really have much shows or hardly any that take place here in Chicago, it was simply love for our city that made people watch the show. The Raphael article points out that in creating a show the network has to think about the cost in how much they put into creating the show and how much they get out of it. The clearest reason here possibly is as Erik mentions, having to film here in the city definitely costs to shut down streets and find locations that can be used while filming rather than filming in a studio. Although, not a viewer myself I am not sure of what type of advertisement went on while the show would play, but I feel like Fox was too much of a big network to want to spend that much money on the show.
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