‘Chicago Fire,’ ‘PD’ and ‘SVU’ EP on Mega-Crossover’s Serial Killer: Dallas Roberts Is ‘Absolutely Mesmerizing’

‘Chicago Fire,’ ‘PD’ and ‘SVU’ EP on Mega-Crossover’s Serial Killer: Dallas Roberts Is ‘Absolutely Mesmerizing’

NBC’s last “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago PD” and “Law & Order: SVU” mega-crossover was a big ratings hit, so naturally Dick Wolf‘s trifecta is back at it for another two-day primetime event which kicks off Tuesday night.

Wolf’s production company president and executive producer on all three shows Peter Jankowski told TheWrap that the stakes will be even higher this time around than the last three-parter.

“In any crossover you have to up the ante a bit, because business as usual doesn’t quite suffice,” Jankowski said. “You have all these great actors together, you want to make sure it’s entertaining and yet still believable.”

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All of that ambition adds up to “The Good Wife’s” Dallas Roberts playing an “absolutely mesmerizing” serial killer across the three-hour story arc, supplying the violence and the through-line for the three procedural series.

“You could write a serial killer into a show, [but] Dallas brings an interpretation and a depth of understanding that is rather disconcertingly great,” Jankowski said.

Another elements that fans of the shows will be looking for is the budding romance between “Chicago P.D.’s” Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) and “SVU’s” Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). But Jankowski played coy about the potential hook-up.

“I’ll never tell, how’s that?” Jankowski joked to TheWrap. “I’ll say the two of them on screen are very comfortable … and you feel like they’ve known each other for a long time — there’s a shorthand.”

Thought protective over exact story elements and potential spoilers, here’s what Jankowski would promise about the coming three hours: “It’s … very emotional — there’s some wonderful interpersonal goings-on between our cast that I think viewers of both ‘SVU’ and the ‘Chicago’ shows will very much enjoy.”

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Jankowski stayed mum on specific plot points but was happy to talk about another potential Chicago series, “Chicago Med,” which the executive called, “The third spoke in the wheel.”

“We’re very proud of it — it’s going to be up to NBC,” he said of the potential spinoff’s spinoff, which was set up earlier this season during a backdoor pilot episode of the popular “Chicago Fire.”

No final decision has been made yet about the potential standalone series.

During January’s Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt told the media: “‘Chicago Med’ is something that we’re just seeding into the system, seeing if there’s a show there that could eventually spin off into itself.”

NBC Entertainment President Jen Salke added: “[Dick Wolf] had such a good run with the crossover episodes and created a world that moves around, with these shows that move around each other. I think it’s natural that he wants to create a medical component to that.”

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Whether or not “Chicago Med” ultimately makes the network’s lineup, Jankowski would be happy to see his other shows keep playing together, and hopes fans are looking forward to this week’s example.

“How many NBC wants, we’ll do em,” he told TheWrap. “I could see us doing this a number of times a year — and doing it quite well — and still keeping it grounded and believable.”

The coming crossover kicks off Tuesday with “Chicago Fire” at 10 p.m. The two-night event continues on Wednesday with “Chicago PD” at 9 and “Law & Order: SVU” at 10.

See TheWrap’s exclusive first look at the crossover.

NBC

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