The surprising reason NBC pulled the plug on Chicago Justice

In the spring of 2017, the One Chicago franchise welcomed its newest addition with the debut of Chicago Justice on March 1 as part of NBC’s midseason lineup.

The fourth series in the One Chicago franchise filled a void left by the franchise’s fellow sister series in putting a focus on the city’s legal system. As the perfect complement to Chicago PD which, of course, follows the men and women in blue, Justice focused on the State’s Attorney’s team of prosecutors and investigators and their pursuit for justice in the courtroom.

Starring Jon Seda as Antonio Dawson, Joelle Carter as Laura Nagel, Philip Winchester as Peter Stone, Monica Barbaro as Anna Valdez, and Carl Weathers as Mark Jeffries, the series quickly became another fan-favorite among One Chicago fans who loved the series’ look at the Chicago justice system and its incredible cast.

Watch One Chicago on fuboTV: Watch over 67 live sports and entertainment channels with a 7-day FREE trial!

Despite a clear interest from fans and solid ratings for a show given one of the most sporadic schedules we’ve ever seen in broadcast, NBC pulled the plug on the series after its first season making it the first and only One Chicago franchise series not to make it past its first season.

Why did NBC cancel Chicago Justice?

To this day, fans still question NBC’s decision to bring an end to the show in questioning the motives behind the decision. While many have looked to the show’s ratings as the culprit for Chicago Justice‘s cancellation, it seems the show’s demise actually came at the hands of another Dick Wolf franchise.

During NBC’s Television Critics Associate (TCA) presentation back in August 2017, NBC Chairman Robert Greenblatt spoke candidly about the decision to cancel Chicago Justice with Deadline. During the conversation, Greenblatt revealed the decision made to “sacrifice” Justice was in part due to the series sharing too many similarities to Law and Order. 

Additionally, with a limited number of spaces in the schedule to fill due to the network’s decision to save Timeless, NBC is said to have viewed Chicago Justice as the most expendable option due to it being the “most conventional” series in the franchise.

As Greenblatt revealed at the time:

"“It just became somewhat of a real estate issue and just looking at how many of these Chicago shows we can sustain, we thought they are all good but it seemed like Justice was the most conventional, it was the closest to a Law and Order show, so we thought maybe this is the one we should sacrifice. But it wasn’t because the show wasn’t good, it was really because a lot of other factors.”"

While Greenblatt’s comments do help to shine a light on why NBC ultimately chose to pass on a second season, that doesn’t make the sting of losing Chicago Justice before it was able to truly reach its full potential hurt any less.

For the latest Chicago Justice-related spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Justice category at One Chicago Center.