Dick Wolf reopens FBI, Special Victims Unit, Chicago, and other TV police departments

Owooo, the wolf howls, signaling the return to work.

Dick Wolf, the master of procedural and copaganda television, is readying his various public service departments for prime time. Per The Hollywood Reporter, NBC’s Chicago shows (Med, Fire, and P.D.) and Law And Order: Special Victims Unit and ‌CBS’ three FBIs (FBI, FBI: International, and FBI: Most Wanted) are re-opening the writers’ rooms. Unfortunately, Prime Video’s Dick Wolf series, On Call, is still searching for a showrunner, delaying its return. Please get in touch with the Special Victims Unit if anyone has any information on a showrunner.

During the five-month-long WGA strike, CBS and NBC scrambled to fill the fall lineup without Wolf loading up the schedule with procedurals. Thankfully, CBS has five seasons of Yellowstone to mine, and NBC has repeats of its various Law & Order and Chicago shows to air, or they would’ve been really screwed.

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Wolf was one of the few showrunners who didn’t have their overall deal suspended during the strike. That makes sense, considering how much of these networks rely on Wolf to produce the cop shows people crave. But also, he’s working on some unscripted shows, so he never stopped working. In April, when Wolf extended his overall deal, Pearlena Igbokwe, Chairman of Universal Studio Group, announced that in addition to his 10 scripted shows, Wolf would be turning on a “new pipeline of unscripted series.” We assume this means something akin to Cops or Paramount’s FBI True, which, somehow, Wolf isn’t involved in. However, a new pipeline of unscripted series does sound terrifying. We fear the pipeline.

The networks have yet to announce return dates because the actors who serve and protect their respective jurisdictions are still on strike. We assume that once SAG-AFTRA gets its fair deal, production will begin and not a moment sooner.