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- [00:02]
A
This episode is brought to you by Marshalls, where you never have to compromise between quality and price. The buyers of Marshalls hustle hard working to bring you great deals on brand name and designer pieces because Marshalls believes everyone deserves access to the good stuff. Visit a Marshalls store near you or shop online@marshalls.com.
- [00:27]
B
Hey, I'm Brian Lucci and this is the official One Chicago podcast, Action. This week we're talking about the show that's my home sweet home. My baby. Chicago pd so far, this season of PD has been nothing less than incredible. Thanks to all those folks working their butts off behind the scenes. But there's only one person leading the charge for our show. The lady who makes sure that we dig deep, tell stories with truth, and do what's right by our characters. My boss, Chicago PD showrunner Gwen Segan.
- [01:07]
A
The fun part is, having been on this show so long, you would think we run out of story, but we don't. There's still so much to tell with these characters.
- [01:19]
B
She's one of the best in the biz and someone I'd run straight into a gun battle with. And on today's episode, she's gonna tell us just how she runs the show, from the casting to the writing to the final edit. And then we're going to dive deep into the first three episodes of this new season of Chicago pd, including some of her favorite scenes that we already shot.
- [01:40]
A
There's a scene where Benny looks into the mirror and I don't even think it looks like Benny. I'm like, who is it? Where he suddenly. It's like he's a different character.
- [01:53]
B
So if you haven't watched the first three episodes of Chicago pd, go do that real quick and come back and have a listen. Because while I had Gwen here, I had her tell me some behind the scenes secrets. And let me tell you, she was spilling her guts. Later on, we'll talk to a lifelong resident of Canaryville. That's the Chicago neighborhood where a lot of episode three was shot. He's a big fan of all the one Chicago shows and he won't hold back when he tells you who his favorite character is. But first, we gotta take a quick break. When we come back, Will step into the brilliant mind of the person who brings Sarge and the whole team to life. Don't go anywhere.
- [02:43]
A
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- [04:16]
B
Hi, I'm Brian Lucci and this is the official One Chicago podcast. Before we kick this lovely thing off and reveal who the luch got in the heart hot seat, I was wondering if you listeners out there ever heard the wise old proverb, be careful of the toes you step on today because they may be attached to the foot that ends up in your ass tomorrow. Well, that saying couldn't ring true regarding this lovely, amazing woman who once upon a time was a writer's assistant and then rose through the ranks to the tippy top. I'm honored to introduce to you to the executive producing storytelling one and only boss lady herself, showrunning Gwendolyn Segan. Welcome, Gwen. How'd you like it?
- [04:55]
A
That was really nice. What an intro.
- [04:58]
B
So wait, here's where it gets better. So you know how for like the last 12 years, you've been asking me questions, waterboarding me, poking me away from the truth, purposely pissing me off. So I go on what you call a Lucci rant. Well, the tables have turned and I know some of your new tricks. So brace yourself, wicked wise one, because I'm coming in hot with all kinds of questions. Are you ready?
- [05:20]
A
Oh, God.
- [05:21]
B
Come on. I'M warming you up. This is it. This is. We've been together for 13 years. I've sat on your floor in your writer's room and got trouble for.
- [05:28]
A
I know.
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B
All right, let's start with a little background check, okay? You got to confirm or deny. Okay. You went to Columbia College in Chicago.
- [05:35]
A
This is correct.
- [05:36]
B
And when you went there, did you. What's this thing called? A Little Semester in la? Is that something? One of the. One of my old friends.
- [05:43]
A
Did you research it? Wow.
- [05:45]
B
I did a little research. Is that it?
- [05:47]
A
Yeah, that's it. Yeah, we had a little program. I think it's still there. But we were able to graduate from Los Angeles, so it was like a nice way to move out to LA with your class of other students. And then we did a couple months there, and then we were on our own.
- [06:06]
B
Okay. So then when you're at that school, somebody recognizes, holy cow, she's a hell of a writer, and they give your name over to Chicago PD and you get hired as an assistant for Matt Olmsted, who's one of the creators of Chicago pd, Am I correct?
- [06:20]
A
Yes. So at the time. Yeah, at the time, he was showrunning Chicago PD and Chicago Fire, so he was doing both of them at the time. And then I think they were developing Chicago Med when I started. So, yeah, he hired me, luckily, and it was great. At the time, we had basically both responsibilities, so we would be writer's assistants and assistants to the showrunner. And then the other two, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, who created Fire and were also, at the time on both of those shows. So it was nice. We got to be on the desk and then also be in the room, and it was a little education as to how it's all done.
- [07:05]
B
Yeah. And he's a straight up killer man. Olmstead, right? He is. We both love him. Yeah. The way he carries himself. I was scared to death.
- [07:12]
A
He is so intimidating. Yeah, he still scares me.
- [07:16]
B
I know. He shows up. He's tall. He's got those dicky shorts on.
- [07:19]
A
He's the best.
- [07:21]
B
So that's season two of Chicago pd, correct? Yeah.
- [07:25]
A
Yeah.
- [07:25]
B
Did you write any or co. Write any season two?
- [07:27]
A
No.
- [07:27]
B
No. What about three? No.
- [07:29]
A
I was an assistant for two years, and then Matt, he gave me my first co write on Chicago Fire, which was great. I got to do an episode with him, sort of learn it with him, and then he staffed me the next season on Chicago pd. So I guess it was season four. I started as a staff writer.
- [07:49]
B
I talked to a couple People that worked with you. Because I didn't want this to be a one sided, hey, Luch loves Gwen kind of show because, you know, I'm, you know, I'm in love with you. Basically, I, I say it. You know, I've been working since I was 13 years old. I've had a lot of bosses, men that were revered, and you're one of my favorite. You're the top three bosses out of all for Kindness for just, I can't wait for you to call and yell at me kind of shit like, I love working with you. What I can't remember is when did you become showrunner?
- [08:17]
A
I think it was season nine. Season nine. This is my fifth. I know.
- [08:24]
B
Holy cow. So for the world out there that doesn't know what a showrunner is, would you mind explaining, like, what a showrunner is and what a showrunner does?
- [08:33]
A
It's a strange job. It's different every single day. But I guess in general, you're in charge of keeping the show moving, keeping the train on the wheels. Right? Like making sure that we have scripts, making sure the scripts are good, keeping the writers room going, and then making sure, you know, through production, making decisions with Chad, who's our producing director of how we're shooting everything, what all that looks like, and then working with Post to get the cuts out. So it's really like every facet, I would say the most important is certainly to me is the stories. Making sure that we have the stories ready to go when they need to go for production and running the room. That's probably what I spend the most time daily doing is writing and then working with the other writers that are on staff.
- [09:26]
B
But it never ends.
- [09:27]
A
It's legit.
- [09:28]
B
14 hours a day. Right? Nobody gets that.
- [09:30]
A
Yeah.
- [09:31]
B
My favorite part of the job is when you call me from the writers room in LA and you're working on a story and you're like, can I talk to you, Luch? Okay, step away from the set. And then we start kicking the police tires. And the first thing you ask me is, is this crazy? You know, it's already cuckoo bird.
- [09:46]
A
But you already, if I say it, we know it's already crazy.
- [09:50]
B
And you've already plotted out the whole story, but you're looking for it. And my mind goes, how does this precious, sweet little woman come up with some of the twisted, deviant, diabolical shit? You know, I think it's because there's a little demon living in your head. I told you that. Playing with some broken toys. What's the first document that the writers write, it's called the what?
- [10:08]
A
First we do a beat sheet is usually the first thing that's written down.
- [10:11]
B
Yeah, I never see the beat sheet. Like, when I. When I come to la, I usually go in the beginning of the season. So the first time I see him is an outline. Right, so it goes from a beat sheet to an outline.
- [10:22]
A
Yep.
- [10:22]
B
And then from an outline to a script.
- [10:26]
A
Yeah.
- [10:26]
B
And then from the script to the episode. Right?
- [10:29]
A
Yeah, the script usually has, what, like 12 versions of it? Like, it just keeps changing.
- [10:34]
B
But, yeah, there's a lot of people that just don't know the reason for this whole thing is like a behind the scenes to, like, educate the. There's a lot of people. Oh, I know what that is. But there's other people that have no, I didn't know what a beat sheet was. You know, what the hell is it?
- [10:45]
A
I didn't know any of this. Yeah, I wasn't even taught it. Like, I mean, I went to film school and I think just the. Every day on a television show in a writer's room is very hard to translate. And everybody does it differently, too. Usually it takes a full month from, like start to finish of getting a script in a place where it could shoot.
- [11:08]
B
So you go from the room, you got all these writers that are collaborating, they put it on a piece of paper. Finally, somebody gets assigned a beat sheet and it's character driven or whatever the story is, and all the cop stuff. Then it goes to outline. That's when I get to see it. I throw in some of my police notes and we all talk and we kick the tires. And then you ask, luch, did you check this? And I'm like, yeah, I checked it and here we are. And then it goes into script, Right. I get in trouble when I don't do my job. You know, it. The script goes to Chicago, where people have no idea all the crazy work that goes into making these stories come to life. And you just said it. And then, yeah, it kicks off. And what people don't know is we usually prep for, what, eight days? Gwen?
- [11:49]
A
Mm. We're doing an eight day prep, sometimes a seven day, but on a good episode, we're doing an eight day, if we can manage it.
- [11:57]
B
So eight days of meeting after meeting after meeting with each and every department. You know, it starts out with this concept meeting and all the department heads are in there. And then it gets broken down over eight days. And while other scripts are being written in la, and while you're working on all that other stuff, you got all this stuff going. So in the spirit of giving our listeners a little taste of behind the scenes prep, I'm going to rattle off a few names of department meetings that we're gonna quickly talk about what gets accomplished or discussed. Are you ready to play with the looch? All right.
- [12:30]
A
Yeah.
- [12:31]
B
All right. Casting meeting one. I don't really go to. What happens there?
- [12:35]
A
Yeah, those are fun.
- [12:36]
B
Tell me about it.
- [12:37]
A
You should come to want to see it.
- [12:38]
B
You never invite.
- [12:39]
A
Yeah, we'll meet. I know we meet with our casting department. So that's Jonathan Strauss in New York and his team, Ricky, and he's Nick, and he's got a whole great team. They have just gotten the script the night before. So they've read the script, they've broken it down, They've sort of, in their own words, sort of come up with a description for each character. And then we go through each character that we need to cast. And it's usually, what do you want for this character? You know, sometimes we want this person to feel really intimidating or they need to feel dangerous, or we want them to be really empathetic or someone that, you know, has to have a physicality because he's gonna be beat the shit out of Atwater and he better be a big guy that can do that. We go through all of those parameters for each character, and then they go ahead and take that and start the search for every single cast member that we're casting. And then casting takes all that info and puts it out into the world.
- [13:38]
B
Okay, location meetings. Tell me about that.
- [13:43]
A
Location. I mean, they're all somewhat similar in a way. Like, so then we have everybody from location department breaking down the script, going through all of the script different locations, and what do we need? What do we want for each one? And our guys are so good that a lot of times they already have some ideas. They have been with us for, gosh, almost the whole time. Right?
- [14:05]
B
Yeah. Pat Muldoon. Pat Muldoon is one of location managers. Yeah. What's cool is when the outline comes out, they already start hunting for those locations. Like, are we looking for the Gold Coast? Are we looking for a crack house? Are we looking for a warehouse beach? You know what I mean? Forest? Like, I love when you guys send a farm. Guys are like, oh, we gotta go to a farm and dig a body.
- [14:27]
A
Yeah, you're driving an hour and you're gonna find us a farm. I remember they found us that amazing one where we blew the place. They got a place where the guy Was like, yeah, you can blow it up. Sure, Blow the place up.
- [14:39]
B
Behind the scenes on that. That farmer was cool as hell. I almost did a sleepover with the whole crew. He was going to let us have a barn party. We were on that farm for three days.
- [14:48]
A
I know that was neat. But, yeah, we do that. And we sit there and we. We go through all of the locations, and they start showing photos of stuff that they found they think could work. Based on that, you guys will go on a scout and check out the actual location. And that happens throughout the entirety of prep, basically. I mean, we find we lose it sometimes the last day. Cause we have such a short.
- [15:10]
B
And sometimes we lose them. People don't realize. It's like sometimes we travel, like, 40 minutes away and we're working 13, 14 hours. It's fun. One of my favorites is Sweet Daddy Merlin, otherwise known as Van Horn, of course. Yeah. The art department. You meet with him and what's up with him. If you could tell. What about that meeting?
- [15:28]
A
Those are my favorite meetings. I like those meetings. So they do the art set deck meeting, which is. It's usually the day before you guys go out on the tech scout. So at that point, we've hopefully got every location, and they're starting to really decide what they need to do to each location. So a lot of times there's construction. A lot of times we have to build something to make the location fit the story or fit the action. And that's all Merlin, he does all of that, does it amazingly. And then also, they've got the set dressers. Yes. So they've got Trish on there, her whole department, and they're figuring out, okay, what are we gonna do in this space to make it look like what was written and fit this character? And Trish is very good at that, at asking questions and getting into who's living here. What's this character like? Some great examples. Remember when she did rabbit? That was really fun. It was a CI of Voights.
- [16:29]
B
Why would I have stayed if I knew that he was gonna kill someone? Okay. That's why I didn't know. EJ asked me where the dealers would be. So, look, I gave him the address, okay? That's all.
- [16:43]
A
And he, you know, had this really kind of nasty apartment. But it was really fun how she dressed it. There was a lot of great details. He had drawings everywhere that he had sketched. He had little rabbits. Yeah. Those are fun meetings I like going through. You get to see every location, what they're gonna do to it. And also all the builds. A lot of times we're building on set, so we'll get all of that, too.
- [17:06]
B
All right, so we're talking about all these meetings, like, each one of them. We got costumes, we got hair, we got makeup, we got the cool stunts going on, special effects, the vehicles that we get to pick, not just the smash, but to give the characters, like. I love how you're in the middle of picking each one. My favorite meeting, the tone meeting. So the tone meeting for you people out there is we get a one on one with Gwen to break down each script. And it's usually we tease what was about three hours. Gwen.
- [17:34]
A
Yeah, you guys time me. Because sometimes I go, yeah, sometimes we go four hours, you know, but three's pretty consistent. We try to keep it three.
- [17:44]
B
I love the tone meeting. Tone meeting is also the opportunity for Gwen to tell, like, the character driven. What we're trying to get to the overall story. Like, this year it's about roots, and we'll get into that later, which is like, come on, man, I've been on this show for 13 years. And when you broke down what the theme of the season is going to be, it's okay to say this, right, Gwen? Roots. Of course we're going to get like a dive into these characters. Like, I'm still interested about Voight, and I'm with him every day. You know, how he's wired, what cloth he's cut from, what makes him who he is and what makes Burgess who she is. And anyways, the table read. We talk about the table read. I love the table read too. And for everyone, that's once the script is pretty much almost ready to go, everybody sits down and we do a table read and everybody reads. And then you even make changes from that too, right, Gwen?
- [18:31]
A
Yeah, for sure. It's the first time we hear it out loud in their voices. So a lot of time, usually there's a lot of trims. Usually, you know, you'll hear something and it doesn't sound quite right, so you'll rewrite that line or you'll realize then, like, oh, we said the same thing twice in this scene. And I don't need to do that, you know, so there's a lot of edits you make after hearing it aloud.
- [18:54]
B
You're the person who decides the arc of the season, the head storyteller for which all plots flow through. What's your North Star for deciding what Chicago PD story is and how it's going to be told.
- [19:05]
A
The fun part is having been on this show so long, you would think we run out of story, but we don't. There's still so much to tell with these characters, and obviously, crime is constant. It just continues. So there's always new stories to pull from. There is always a way we haven't told something. So we do start with theme on our show. As far as coming up with what we want the season to be about as a whole, that's where the roots idea came from. Some other ones we've done. You know, we had a season where we explored family. We had a season where we explored politics. We had a season that was savior, and it was about sort of savior complex and also what Voight was going through at the time. So every year, there's usually something we kind of glom onto, and then episode by episode, we start to decide, okay, well, what character arcs do we want? What do we want each character to be going through? What's Voight's story this year? What's Burgess story this year? And then we break that story up. So I don't know if a lot of procedurals do it this way, but we try to make it as character heavy as we can. So we'll start there, and then we actually add the crime story onto the character story. So generally, when people pitch. They pitch the character first, and then it's, well, what crime goes perfectly with that? Sometimes there's a crime that you just want to tell. You know, it's usually some sort of rip from the headlines thing, and you're like, we got to tell that one. That one's awesome. And we'll go backwards on it. But most of the time, it's character first, and then what crime fits, what action fits. How can we tell that story in the best way? And there are certainly things that work better on our show. We always say, we're not a murder mystery show. We are not Law and Order. We're not sitting and talking. We are boots on the ground. We are movement. That's what works on our show. So it's a difficult show to break in that way because it's not necessarily the same formula every single week. Some weeks it looks different, and I like it to look different. I think it's nice when you get a little flavor each week that feels not the same. So when we do a murder mystery, we're gonna go lean full in. Right. Like that. Episode 3 this year with Burgess and Rusic, it really feels Canaryville, you know? Yeah, yeah, Canaryville. It's a really interesting. We're using A little bit of a device through it. And we're really leaning into this idea that it is a murder mystery. But then you have one like our first episode this year, which is much more boots on the ground, active. We are kicking indoors, we're moving. And that's kind of the bread and butter of the show, I think, is you always want to feel like there could be danger on the other side of the door and. And that our guys are always in a position where there are stakes.
- [22:13]
B
What's going on? I mean, in a nutshell. I mean, the elevator pitches, you know, you got Voight, who's trying to bring the unit back together, who's working on a gun trafficking, highly fully automatic. And he on views this horrible murder and everybody's a victim.
- [22:38]
A
Yep.
- [22:39]
B
You know what I mean? So it's kind of cool. And that. That one never stops, even through the course of it. He runs into our new character, Armani, and then he's starting to see a lot of him in there. And they're running and gunning and we don't have the tools that we used to. That's one. Then boom, we flip it to open wounds with Taurus, you know, and how long have you been wanting to work on that where with his religion, you know, last year we got pressed because he got hurt. I mean, in real life, he got. He hurt his elbow carrying a long gun. But now it was awesome because you jump back in it and he's just as excited to do it. So, yeah, that character's running through it and then boom. Canaryville. You're sitting at home with a couple who live in Canaryville, Burgess and Ruse. They're enjoying a day, and the next thing you know, the blue lights are going by and there's a murder mystery. Okay, that's awesome. So this is the part that I don't like. My pod producers want you to explain my role and how I collaborate with the writers in the meetings.
- [23:36]
A
And I'm making you comfortable.
- [23:38]
B
Yeah, I hate it. And on set. Cause they don't think I've ever fully explained what I do. So if you could tell them what a pod I do. You do a lot of chess game.
- [23:46]
A
You do a lot.
- [23:48]
B
We do a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [23:50]
A
And you're kind of this unique little animal. You started as just a straight up tech consultant, but you are no longer a justice straight up tech consultant. You have a lot of hats, but to me, you are sort of the cop voice of the show. I mean, you're the. Everyone always says you're the soul of the show. I think that's very true, Lucci.
- [24:10]
B
That's sweet.
- [24:11]
A
Yeah, you are. And you're certainly sort of the police philosophy that we try to write to on a day to day. I mean, you are the person that gives us all of the real world, all of the truth. So even in the pitch stage, we're always thinking, well, would Lucci say this is accurate? If Luch doesn't think this is accurate, we're not gonna do it. So even in the pitch stage, we are calling you for help on that. So this cop thing, that's essential to the story, how do we make this realistic? And so it's always. You're always our first call. And then you're also the person that provides us with any other kind of research we need. So you've made it so that writers can go on ride alongs. You've done that for me. You've also gotten me in the coolest places. I think some of them. I'm probably not supposed to say.
- [25:03]
B
Don't say.
- [25:04]
A
You've gotten me to meet a lot of people. And anytime I'm like, hey, what would this part of the PD be like? And if you don't know, you'll always find me somebody who knows. So you'll always get somebody on the phone or even better, get me to meet somebody who has done that job. So, yeah, that is how you work with us. Doing notes, doing passes on everything. As far as this is how we would say that. We wouldn't say this. We'd say it like this. And then you're also on set every single day. You are there every day producing, and you make sure it feels real. So that is helping train our cast. That's helping train even the extras background. You know, you'll go through with them. This is how you hold a gun. No, you're doing it wrong. You gotta do it like this. All of that, you make sure that we look good, which is incredibly important.
- [25:59]
B
Thank you.
- [25:59]
A
And you're, you know, our ears and eyes. You always are the one that calls me and is like, hey, this isn't working.
- [26:06]
B
That's my favorite part of the job.
- [26:08]
A
Yeah, it's really nice that you're so likable. Cause we've just really reaped the benefits.
- [26:17]
B
We gotta take a quick break, but I got more good stuff with Gwen Segan when we come back.
- [26:30]
A
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B
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A
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B
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A
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B
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A
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A
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- [27:14]
B
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- [27:16]
A
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- [27:26]
B
Learn more@WhatsApp.com this episode is brought to you by Jack Daniels. Jack Daniels and music are made for each other. They share a rhythm in the craft of making something timeless while being a part of legendary nights. From backyard jams to sold out arenas, there's a song in every toast. Please drink responsibly. Responsibility.org, jack Daniels and Old no. 7 are registered trademarks. Tennessee whiskey, 40% alcohol by volume. Jack Daniel Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee. We're back talking with Chicago PD showrunner, the one and only Gwen Segan. Let's go backwards. Can you describe to us a place that you left Chicago PT characters last season after you expanded the unit and why that interested you to do that?
- [28:18]
A
Yeah, well, we'd never done it before, and it seemed really interesting to almost have a reset on everybody. And due to what happened last season, it also felt realistic that this can't just be over. They had to have some cost to it. And also jumping in time a little bit and giving them a month and having this reality that they lived in for a month where they don't get to do the jobs that they love and that they're very good at. And that I think for each of them, kind of holds them together mentally. Like just going to a job every day and having this group of people is really integral to every character on the show. And so you strip that away and where are they gonna be at and how are they gonna feel? And it sort of juiced everyone's storyline. You know, when you think about Torres being home without a badge, struggling and in pain for a month without any of the people that he usually rel. Burgess, who's just washing dishes. Yeah. And she's washing dishes at home, you know, and she's. She's bored out of her mind at water. Having to work downtown, like, just work crowd control. And again, bored. And just knowing, like, this is not. This is not what I'm meant to be doing. So it gave a lot of them an interesting place to start. And especially Voight, we liked the idea that he's almost trapped. He's even wearing, like, a beat cop uniform. He's driving a squad car. He's got his little cap on that.
- [30:04]
B
He wanted that he fought for. That he fought for. He really.
- [30:07]
A
Jace really wanted that cap. Yeah, yeah, it looked good. But making him feel confined in a way that was really interesting to me. And then him fighting against it and sort of fighting against, like, I want to do this the right way. I want to do. I don't want to get my unit into more trouble. So I'm just going to listen to what they're telling me to do. But then seeing through the episode that erode that he could not do what everyone was telling him to do, which is basically, go sit on the bench, you're done.
- [30:37]
B
I was promised a four week evaluation. No, you were told a four week evaluation at minimum. I need more time. How much? I don't relish this, Hank. And if you want to talk consequences, I believe these are yours. You just keep working. Rapid response. I need more time.
- [31:00]
A
And he just couldn't abide by that. So we see him once again sort of go void and make a decision that morally most of us would not make.
- [31:09]
B
What's cool is like, yeah, you're right. He was in a box. You know, that's what a border patrol officer has to be. Sector sergeant you were talking about in real life, when a specialized unit gets disbanded, it happened before. They send you all over the city. This guy's working north, this guy's working south. You're not with your partner. You don't know who you could count on. Poor Patty and Ruse are separated. Burgess, like you said, is home, and Voight's out there in his polyesters, and it's 112, and he catches that case. So you're right. How about these?
- [31:36]
A
It really was like 112.
- [31:38]
B
It was 112. And then at the end when Imani's there and everyone's like, who's this lady rubbing a chicken? You know, I mean, she's sitting on a desk chicken. Yeah. Yeah.
- [31:49]
A
Even though I had scripted I wanted her petting that chicken. And I remember the call from set, and Chad was like, it feels really weird. She's petting his chicken. So she just sat Next to it. It felt pretty nice.
- [32:02]
B
Yeah, she grabbed it a couple times. That's Detective Clucks, as I call her. We've had that chicken for a while.
- [32:09]
A
And that was a real thing too, right? Didn't you? That was a real story. You guys found a duck or something with drugs in it, a pheasant.
- [32:16]
B
Back in the day, you'd get trophies when you did a search warrant or ev. Of an abandoned building, let's say, and you would come home with stuff. There was a certain stuffed animal that may have been allegedly taken from an abandoned building that was up in the ceiling of a certain district. And an officer who allegedly was cleaning his gun shot the bird, and the bird fell and stuff came out of it. Yeah, that's a whole different story. But so all these little things like Melibirdi and stuff that are in a bullpen are like, real story stuff. All right, here. What are you excited about exploring this season and why?
- [32:50]
A
We like a theme where there's a lot of different ways to take it.
- [32:53]
B
Right.
- [32:54]
A
Obviously, the on the face thing of we're gonna explore each character's roots, where they came from, why they are the way they are. But I think there's also a way to look at it through crime, sort of root cause of crime, what causes violence in a person, the motivations behind crime, how living in a certain area, that alone, what that could do to you. Like, also, we have a lot of imagery this year of roots and sort of organic things and growth and rot and all of these different versions. So I am interested in that for sure. I think we've had a lot of fun with the Voight of that storyline. It's a little different for us, and hopefully the audience will get just a deeper look at who he is and why he is this way.
- [33:43]
B
I mean, I'm loving that whole thing.
- [33:45]
A
Yeah, that's been fun. And then we've, you know, gotten away with, I think, episode three, which, you know, would have just aired before this. That one, we broke structure a little bit. That's been really fun to write. I think Atwater's got this really just relatable storyline of when you reach a certain age. And, you know, he's been so responsible all of his life. He's been so responsible for every person in his family and the job and his community. And I think sometimes his own personal wants and the idea of, you can dream for more for yourself is second, because it has to be. And now that all the kids are grown and he's done this great job Raising his siblings, and they're out of the house, and his dad's doing great, and his apartment building that he bought is doing great, and he's good at the job. Like, what comes next? What do you actually want? Right. And that's been fun to explore for him. Of what would the answer to that be for Atwater at this point of his life? And we've enjoyed that storyline, so. Yeah. I mean, there's so many fun things.
- [34:55]
B
On the horizon in Consequences. Is there a favorite scene that you had or a special moment in 1301?
- [35:02]
A
Ooh.
- [35:03]
B
Yeah, I know. Yeah.
- [35:04]
A
What's my favorite, though? I thought the Burgess fight looked incredible. Marina was so good in that scene.
- [35:09]
B
Oh. She went in to do undercover with Amani. Right.
- [35:14]
A
Let her go instead of me. I said, let him go.
- [35:17]
B
Shoot him. Chicago. Petey. Get off of him. Get off. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [35:27]
A
I loved the Amani and Voight scenes. There were a few in there that I thought were really great. I liked the scene where they were just. It was really simple. They were just searching the house. They weren't really looking at each other. And then I really liked the ending with the two of them, too. I mean, I thought that was a great scene.
- [35:44]
B
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Talk to your supervisor.
- [35:48]
A
Why'd you wanna meet here?
- [35:50]
B
Is that a tick of yours? You don't answer questions.
- [35:53]
A
Well, you don't either, right? Not exactly a shining conversationalist.
- [35:58]
B
What'd he give you?
- [36:01]
A
Early end to my detail. Yeah, it's fine. I was feeling like it was time to pack up anyway, move somewhere else. I don't really like to stay put for too long.
- [36:11]
B
I can tell they're the same person, and you'll get into that later.
- [36:15]
A
They're very similar in a lot of ways. Yeah.
- [36:17]
B
There's a scene in there that could easily be missed, when Imani runs out the back of the bar and Voight points his gun in her face.
- [36:23]
A
That was a fun thing we talked about in the tone was she hardly has a reaction. Like, her reaction to Voight pulling a gun on her is more so just annoyance than anything else. There's no fear. It's just, what the fuck are you doing? Put your gun down.
- [36:40]
B
And what nobody understands is behind the scenes. So we brought in this girl, and she's. Dude, she's wicked smart. You know, I worked with her for an hour, and she can move. Like, she's methodical.
- [36:51]
A
Yeah.
- [36:51]
B
You know, like, you gave me credit a little while ago about training these guys, and I said, let me see what you could do. Amazing. Me and her arguing. I'm killing her. She's coming at me. She gets in the car with Jason Begay for two days and he starts ball busting her. And she comes right back. ETF down with you shoving officers with beer bottles.
- [37:10]
A
Can we make this quicker?
- [37:11]
B
Who drives that Ford?
- [37:12]
A
Why you want to know?
- [37:13]
B
That's not how it works. You answer first.
- [37:15]
A
I got no idea who drives it, all right? I've never seen it. Why do you want to know?
- [37:19]
B
The chances are we're chasing the same guy. I don't got to tell a beat.
- [37:22]
A
Sergeant what I'm working.
- [37:23]
B
Excuse me.
- [37:24]
A
Did I stutter? I don't need to tell you. All right.
- [37:28]
B
She's good. Yeah, she's good.
- [37:30]
A
She's strong.
- [37:31]
B
She's very strong. Amazing. You got a favorite scene at 1302. Open wounds with Torres.
- [37:36]
A
Oh, my gosh, yes. So many. I love this episode. There's a scene where Torres looks into the mirror, and I don't even think it looks like Benny. I'm like, who is that? Where he suddenly. It's like a. He's a different character. And it's amazing. It's just so stripped and raw and like, there's so much shame and pain in it. That's the one that will stick with me, at least that scene. But there's so many scenes. And we had such a good guest star in that episode. Like, there's so many. Just great scenes throughout it. My gosh.
- [38:15]
B
And there's another one that didn't end well. Benny. I shared a bunch of stories about how hard it is to police your own. Last year was real tough, but if you keep beating yourself up about what happened, I just gotta. I just gotta find a way to deal with it all. But I'll find it. Hell yeah, you will. Thank you. He dives into it. He eats, sleeps, and drinks this shit, you know. In 1303, what was the inspiration for that episode? Where'd that come from?
- [38:54]
A
Gosh, there was so much. I mean, it was one of our writers, Mel, who did that one. And I think we started with the device. I think that was one of the first things and we knew we wanted.
- [39:07]
B
What does that mean? I forget what that means.
- [39:09]
A
Oh, that was like the story. Like the narration that we used in that one. Doing something a little bit different.
- [39:14]
B
Oh, yeah. The girl talking.
- [39:16]
A
And then also just this idea of a mirror to Mikayla. We really loved this idea. Like, we can tell a story about Mikayla through the case, which is what it ended up is where Sasha was almost this grown up version of who Mikaela might be if she followed the same path. And we were really interested in this idea of like, that you can't give your kids your childhood. That as much as people want to, it's not possible. And especially for them, it's not possible. And so exploring that and like the roots again of you had these certain roots when you grew up. And Ruzik is so attached in love with that neighborhood for good reason. It gave him so much and. And he's raising his daughter in his childhood home, which is beautiful, but also she's not going to get what he got. It's. It doesn't exist there for her. So I think that was one of the first things we probably talked about in the room altogether.
- [40:14]
B
There's a little scene where she's trying to straighten out her hair, you know, because she's an African American girl and she's trying to fit in. And Burgess is clocking this. I think what's so cool about it, you know, the title of it's Canaryville. Like, I love that neighborhood and I love the people that live here, you know, they're like, hard nose, really good, hard working Chicagoans, you know.
- [40:33]
A
Yes. Like city, such a sense of community.
- [40:36]
B
Yeah. Coppers, firemen, this and that. And then to have a murder like this and to be able to tell the story is pretty neat because like, people knew Ruse, like when he walked up on the stoop and they're like, what are you gonna do, man? This is, this is like in our front yard.
- [40:48]
A
Yeah.
- [40:49]
B
That was a beautiful story. And everything complemented it, Everything, like Ruse is good. It's like, me, like, I'm from the old neighborhood, I love Bridgeport, I ain't going nowhere. Like, are you kidding me? I'll fight and die for it. Like, my sons are here. Like, this is my home. And I tell everyone I'm proud of that. You know, he's the same way with Canaryville. This is where everything that he knows, this is the cloth he was cut from and it told that and it gave a taste of Chicago. That like, nobody kind of gets that rich, like, we've been around forever kind of deal. And I loved it and I loved it and I think we did it right. Where Burgess is like, don't we want a little something more? And there's purposely written where he's working on what the pipes in the basement and the roots are growing through there, which is the thematical, you know, like all this stuff is intertwined. All right. We're Zooming back out. I know you love all your children equally, but who is your favorite character? Right. For or your easiest to that you know their voice so well.
- [41:42]
A
I like writing for all of them. My answer will change based on who I'm currently writing for. So right now I'm writing for Imani. So now I'm just thinking about Imani, and I'm like, oh, yeah. But I think every single one of them is a pleasure to write for because, I mean, there's always a great.
- [42:00]
B
Story to tell and how they tell it too. You know what I mean?
- [42:03]
A
We're lucky. We're so lucky. We're so lucky we have the best cast because they believe in you.
- [42:09]
B
You know what I mean? Jason's like, I don't understand this. I go, well, you got went on speed dial, like, she said it a thousand times. Call me if you don't understand. Or call the writer. Not at five in the morning, but call me if you don't get it out here. Alan McDonald, the Med showrunner, told me he knows he's being mean when he leaves the audience on a cliffhanger, but it's for the audience's own good. What's the meanest thing you've done and why?
- [42:32]
A
Oh, my God.
- [42:35]
B
You know what I mean.
- [42:36]
A
Well, I think the meanest thing our show's ever done is Olensky. That definitely. That was meanest. Yeah, that was maybe the meanest.
- [42:45]
B
He didn't stab him once. He stabbed him multiple times while he's in the jail. And he couldn't wear his hat.
- [42:50]
A
So heartbreaking. Yeah, he couldn't even have his hat on.
- [42:54]
B
This is your life.
- [42:57]
A
If you don't tell the truth about.
- [42:58]
B
What happened, you will die in prison. I don't want to talk about this. Why?
- [43:03]
A
Well, you don't understand. I don't understand what?
- [43:07]
B
You don't understand me. I do. Trust me. All right, then why do you keep asking me to do something that I'm not capable of? Okay, without spoiling anything, what's an upcoming moment this season that you're particularly proud of? Just give us a little hint so we'll know when we see it, when it comes.
- [43:23]
A
I'll try not to spoil anything, but I will say there's a couple episodes that will center around the Bell family, and it gets very twisted and fun. So I would say that storyline in those episodes in particular, I've been hustling.
- [43:42]
B
My whole life, like I told you, and you are, like, one of my favorite bosses ever, Ever. And I want to thank you so Much for coming on here. I don't think the world knows how incredible you are. I had dinner with our biggest boss last night. Peter came in town and of course you came up. And his words were, we are so lucky to have such an incredible woman. But on top of it, you're like the sweetest, nicest human being alive. You know, I tease her all day. Cause she'll. We'll go through a three hour meeting and she'll have six different hairdos and I'll send her texts of her. She wants to kill me. But that's the kind of friendship we have. Like, we love each other. Like, we laugh every day and sometimes she hands me my ass. But that's it. So this is what a showrunner is, and this is what a showrunner does, and this is how important it is to the show. Everything that she touches, twists, turns, it's all her. And like I said, we didn't get her alone, either one of us. And I want to thank you so much, Gwen. I love you to death. And hopefully we'll be able to do this again.
- [44:38]
A
Yeah. Anytime, Lucci. Anytime. Thank you, Luch.
- [44:46]
B
That was showrunner Gwen Segan. And hopefully now you could tell why she's my absolute favorite boss ever. Before we go, I wanted to give you a little more behind the scenes action from our latest episode, the one we called Canaryville. That's the name of the working class neighborhood on the south side of Chicago where Ruza grew up. And it's not far from where I grew up too. I love shooting on real locations like this. This day, the streets were crawling with actors, crew members, and off duty coppers working security. Hey, daddy. Oh, you got a second? This is one of the. One of the old Chicago detectives, I mean, dinosaur days. His niece just might be married to my Sonny. Yeah, it's a small little world. Has there been fans sneaking around? No, we didn't see him today. They don't know we're here. That's why usually you'll have like a nice group you could go talk to or a neighbor. That aftermath afternoon, I spotted an older fella watching us from across the street. Are you guys from the neighborhood? Have you lived in the neighborhood your whole life? Yeah, I've been there 45 years. In the corner building? Yeah, right there. And you watch the show? Yeah, all the time. Me and my wife. Who you like the best? I like it, I'll tell you the truth. But I like. I like the boss. You like Void? Yeah, I like Void. Does it feel real? Yeah, it does feel real good. It does feel. Feel real. Yeah. So this episode, they're calling it Canaryville. Did they tell you?
- [46:19]
A
No, nobody told.
- [46:20]
B
It's about the neighborhood. So you're born and raised here? Yeah, it's mostly cops, firemen, city workers. Right. And the guys used to work in the back of the yards, am I right? Yeah, there's a lot of guys that worked at, at the stockyards up there for years with a sledgehammer. It killed cows. Yeah. And sheep. They used to stand on there and they used to go boom. There's an old saying around here, they don't call the police. No. They call ambulances. Right. Yeah. They took care of their own. So this is. We had to. Right. Because, you know, that's the way life was when I was growing up. Blue collar, hard working, good people. Like really good Chicagoans. And that's what Ruzik's character is. He's. His mind was from Mount Greenwood and his dad was from Canaryville or vice versa. And when Voight picked him to be in the unit, they told him, you bring the Canaryville. I don't worry about the other neighborhood because he knows, you know, they're tough as nails here. We used to have a guy down in this neighborhood when I was growing up. We used to call him Shoes. He had a 13 and a half inch shoe. A cop. And I'm gonna tell you something, you did something wrong. He kicked you in the ass and sent you home. And if you told your dad, your old man would kick you in the ass. Yeah. So that's the ass he got. True. I'm 77 years old. I was born and raised in this neighborhood. If he caught you at the park and you were drinking, if you gave him any lip, you caught a crack. If you went home and you told your own man, you caught two more cracks, right. If you ran from him, man, he. They knew every nook. Oh, don't run from. Because he knew right where you were going to go. He's waiting there for you. He said, you think he got away? See, that's Rusik. We did. We're doing a scene in this one where the kid runs from the neighborhood neighbor. He takes off. Well, Rusik's from the neighborhood. He knows the gangways, the back. He knows the hideouts right along the railroad where the cut ins, the cutouts are. Right. By the time the kid comes around, Rusik's standing there just like that copper you said so. They don't even realize we used to call him Big Bigfoot. How real life is something, man. He was a big dude. Yeah, yeah. But when he kicked you, you felt it and you respected him. You know what I mean? Like, so we try to do whatever we can to make this show hold on to that old school feeling and make it real. And there's. I like that. I don't care what neighborhood we go into, right? No, they walk out. They love void. Good seeing you, brother. Be safe.
- [48:31]
A
All right.
- [48:36]
B
That's one of the folks from Canaryville, a real neighborhood in Chicago and where the episode with the same name was shot. And I gotta say, getting to meet all the fans when we're out and about in the city, it's one of my favorite parts of the job. So I hope you'll keep watching the rest of this season and keep coming back to this podcast for a little peek behind the curtain because there is so much more to come. One Chicago airs on Wednesday night at 8, 7 Central on NBC. And you could stream it on Peacock. The One Chicago podcast is a production of of Wolf Entertainment and USG Audio. The series is hosted by me, Brian Lucci. It's executive produced by Dick Wolf, Elliot Wolf and Steven Michael at Wolf Entertainment, Josh Block at USG Audio and John Yell Kastner at SpokMedia. Our showrunner is Derek John, our producer is Maggie Dubrizi and our audio producer is Jason Mark. Video production by Bo Delmore. Coordinating production by Tess Ryan. Our production assistant is Montserrat Rodriguez. With engineering and mix by Evan Arnett and original music by John o'. Hara. This series is produced by Spoke Media and distributed by Realm. Production support for USG Audio by Josh Lalongi. I'm Brian Luch. Thanks for listening and we'll see you all soon. Cut. Limu Emu and Doug. Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us. Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty.
- [50:33]
A
Liberty. Liberty.
- [50:34]
B
Liberty Savings Fairy Underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Affiliates excludes Massachusetts. Hey, Michael. Hey, Tom. You want to tell him or you want me to tell him? No, no, no. I, I, I got this. I want people out there. People lean in. Get close, get close. Listen, here's the deal. We have big news. We got monumental news. We got snack tacular news. Yeah. After a brief hiatus, my good friend Michael Ian Black and I are coming back. My good friend Tom Kavanaugh and I are coming back to do what we do best, what we were put on this earth to do. To pick a snack, to eat a snack, and to rate a snack scientifically, emotionally, spiritually. Mates is back. Mike and Tom Eat Snacks is back. A podcast for anyone with a mouth. With a mouth. Available wherever you get your podcasts.