NBC’s ‘Chicago Med’ premieres tonight, latest show from Baylor duo
When Chicago Fire, an NBC drama created and co-written by Baylor alums Derek Haas, BA ’91, MA ’95, and Michael Brandt, BBA ’91, MA ’94, debuted in 2012, it proved so popular that it earned a spinoff before its first season was over. That show, Chicago P.D., has also proved to be a hit, opening the door for Baylor’s “dynamic duo” and producer Dick Wolf (creator of NBC’s Law & Order franchise) to expand their storytelling universe with a second spinoff, which debuts tonight.
Chicago Med premieres at 8 p.m. CST on NBC, a highly-anticipated drama that was foreshadowed in a highly-rated episode of Chicago Fire last season. The show, starring Oliver Platt (The West Wing) and S. Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order), is set in a large Chicago hospital and, much like Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D., will use episodes to tell stories based on actual events that are in the news as it follows the personal and professional challenges doctors on the program face.
“The doctors try their hardest because it’s the right thing to do, and when tragedy strikes, something good ultimately comes out of them. It’s old-fashioned in its values but wears that traditional nature on its sleeve so proudly that it almost feels admirable,” writes The A.V. Club. “What started out as a neat trick for fueling easily promotable crossover events has become something unique on the current television landscape: Three shows that feel like one big, sprawling, cohesive universe.”
For Haas and Brandt, the show brings their partnership’s incredible body of work to three television shows, five feature films (including 3:10 To Yuma and Wanted) and one video game. The writing duo met at Baylor, and their partnership was formed when they discovered similar tastes in a Baylor screenwriting class taught by Professor Bob Darden. In appreciation for Darden’s impact in their lives, they pay tribute by naming a character after Darden in each of their works. And if you noticed that the character named Darden dies in every one of those films and shows, then you caught on to the joke that reveals some of the sense of humor Haas, Brandt and Darden share. (Baylor Nation will occasionally recognize other “easter eggs” in their shows — names like Hankamer, Penland and Browning.)
As Haas and Brandt celebrate the start of a new show, they can also celebrate the continued success of Chicago Med’s predecessors; both Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. have already been renewed for another year — a fifth season for Fire, and a fourth for P.D.
Sic ’em, Derek Haas and Michael Brandt!