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‘Chicago Justice’ Season 2 Fate Remains In Limbo, NBC Hopeful For Renewal

By Alexandria Ingham
Published on: 03:10 PST, May 19, 2017

The fate of Chicago Justice Season 2 remains in limbo. Despite three other One Chicago shows being renewed, the latest spinoff’s fate still isn’t determined. While NBC boss Bob Greenblatt remains hopeful for the renewal, there are some issues with scheduling that make it difficult.

NBC was the last of the main networks to confirm the fate of its most popular shows. The majority of publications believed all Dick Wolf’s shows would be safe, but when Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med were renewed, Justice and Law & Order: SVU were missing. The latter did eventually receive a renewal, but the fate of the crime/legal drama remains in the air.

The ratings haven’t been as good as hoped for the show. This may be due to the Sunday night airtime. All other One Chicago shows air in the middle of the week on three of the most popular nights for TV. That being said, it was still a fairly strong performer for a Sunday night. It performed better than CBS’ Madam Secretary in the same timeslot and ABC’s Once Upon a Time in the hour earlier timeslot on numerous occasions. Both of those shows were renewed.

Justice ratings are also higher than some of the other shows on NBC that have already been renewed. Taken consistently performed lower than Justice, but it does have a strong international following, which may have saved it.

According to Deadline, Greenblatt is looking for a way to keep Chicago Justice on the schedule. There are just too many shows and not enough airtime in the week. Even Chicago Med suffered a blow when it was moved to a midseason premiere for its third season, while Fire and P.D. remain in their usual weekly timeslots of Tuesdays and Wednesdays, respectively.

Because there was no space in the fall 2017 schedule, Greenblatt and the rest of NBC decided there was no need to renew or cancel Chicago Justice right away. It can wait a couple of weeks to determine the fate while the network figures out a place for it.

The downside for fans is that the Season 1 finale has already aired. There wasn’t complete closure on all the character storylines, and now the fate of Antonio Dawson is unknown. Fans want to see him back in the One Chicago franchise regularly, which can’t happen if the latest spinoff remains in limbo. It also makes it difficult for the actors, who may look at other TV shows for work rather than remain in limbo.

There is hope that NBC will make a decision by the end of May for Chicago Justice Season 2. It is possible that the show will move to the summer, as many other legal dramas tend to do well during that time. Suits has consistently performed well for the summer ratings, securing it for six seasons so far. Boston Legal also enjoyed a spring/summer position for five years.

Chicago Justice isn’t the only show in limbo. Freshman comedy Trial & Error remains in limbo. This is due to the licensing fee; the show is created by Warner Bros. and licensed by the network. Since the show isn’t performing as strongly as hoped, NBC wants to reduce the costs associated with it. Numerous Warner Bros. comedies have been taken off the air this season, so it is likely that the company will want to work with NBC to keep its show on the air.

NBC has now confirmed its fall 2017 schedule. While two One Chicago shows will return to their normal nights, Med and Justice are missing. At least the medical spinoff has a confirmed renewal. The Inquisitr will bring you more about Chicago Justice Season 2 when more is known.

[Featured Image by NBC]

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