{alltv} Ryan sticks to what he knows with 'Chicago Code'

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One of the most oft-repeated bits of writers' advice is "stick to what you know," and it's clear Shawn Ryan knows a thing or two about dramatizing dysfunctional big-city police forces. He proved it with his groundbreaking FX series The Shield, and he proves it again with this latest winning take on crime and corruption

Once again, a small band of dedicated cops are trying to rid their city's force and government of the lazy, incompetent and, most notably, criminal. But this time the focus is on the rid-ers, not the rid-ees — and the bad guy behavior, at least in the three outings previewed, is a bit more believable.

Another promising switch: Ryan is bringing this story to a place that's clearly in his blood, Chicago, near his Rockford, Ill., hometown. And moving the actors and crew to Chicago gives the show a level of verisimilitude you can't capture any other way. Indeed, one of the best recent TV trends is this move toward shooting a show where it takes place, something that always made creative sense but wasn't always done.

The hero here is Jarek Wysocki, a dedicated if somewhat eccentric detective played by Australian actor Jason Clarke — who's totally convincing as a Chicago guy, a tough guy and a good guy. Wysocki's most notable quirk is that he hates bad language, which gives him a distinctive trait while giving the writers' fictional cover for their need to follow real-world broadcast standards.

Wysocki respects the job but likes being in control, which is why he agrees when the city's new female top cop, Teresa Colvin (Jennifer Beals), puts him in charge of a new anti-corruption task force. Her goal is to bring down a powerful alderman, powerfully played by Delroy Lindo with just the right blend of charisma and menace. To do so, she'll have to take on the cops and mobsters he has in his pocket.

It's a complex story, which may be why Ryan relies in part on an intrusive monologue-narration device to guide us. Still, the intrusions only momentarily interrupt the fast-moving plot, which twists agreeably without losing sight of its moral ambiguities, from the alderman's seemingly sincere belief in his own effectiveness to Wysocki's insistence that Teresa remember the line between corruption and "the way things get done."

There's good acting work all around tonight, including a nice turn by Matt Lauria as Wysocki's new partner. But as sometimes happens with series, the work becomes more ragged in the next few episodes, particularly from Beals, who loses some of the inner steel that makes her character make sense. Let's hope it was just a case of actors adjusting to the demands of the shooting schedule and that time will improve the performances rather than deteriorate them further.

It would be a crime, after all, to see a good show go bad.