'Chicago Fire,' 'P.D.,' 'SVU': Why crossover episodes help networks
As cable and online-only shows continue to make headlines, crossover episodes like the one planned on NBC involving 'Chicago Fire,' 'Chicago P.D.,' and 'Law & Order: SVU' can bring in viewers for struggling networks.
'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' stars Mariska Hargitay.
Diane Bondareff/Invision for NYWIFT/AP
Not two but three TV shows will be part of an NBC crossover event that begins on April 28 with an episode of the show 鈥淐hicago Fire鈥� and will continue through installments of 鈥淐hicago P.D.鈥� and 鈥淟aw & Order: Special Victims Unit.鈥澛�
鈥淐hicago P.D.鈥� debuted in 2014 and is a spin-off of 鈥淔ire,鈥� which came on the air in 2012. 鈥淪VU鈥� has been on the air since 1999.
According to , the teams from each show will be working to identify a serial killer who has been committing crimes in various areas.听
鈥淭his crossover is the best [crossover] yet and provided the best episode of聽鈥楥hicago P.D.鈥櫬爕et,鈥� 鈥淐hicago Fire鈥� and 鈥淐hicago P.D.鈥� producer Matt Olmstead told TV Guide. 鈥淭he cool thing about this one is ... that it starts in Chicago and stays in Chicago in the 9pm hour with聽SVU聽people over there. Then, at 10, it goes to New York with our guys going there. So it plays like a 3-hour movie without ping-ponging back to particular cities for the timeslots.鈥澛�
TV show crossovers are good for network television in that they鈥檙e headline-making events in an age where cable or online-only shows are capturing a lot of pop culture buzz. At last year鈥檚 , 鈥淒ownton Abbey,鈥� which airs on PBS, was the only non-cable show to be nominated for Best Drama Series (the winner was AMC鈥檚 鈥淏reaking Bad,鈥� while AMC鈥檚 鈥淢ad Men,鈥� HBO鈥檚 鈥淭rue Detective鈥� and 鈥淕ame of Thrones,鈥� and Netflix鈥檚 鈥淗ouse of Cards鈥� were the other nominees). ABC鈥檚 鈥淢odern Family鈥� won the Best Comedy Series Emmy Award, but it and CBS鈥檚 鈥淭he Big Bang Theory" were the only network nominees with the other contenders consisting of FX鈥檚 鈥淟ouie,鈥� Netflix鈥檚 鈥淥range Is the New Black,鈥� and HBO鈥檚 鈥淰eep鈥� and 鈥淪ilicon Valley.鈥� Networks like CBS and ABC did do well, with their wins for "Modern" and the CBS show "Mom," among others, but NBC didn't capture any of the major awards.
In addition, the three shows involved in the crossover are some of NBC鈥檚 biggest successes, while many of their new shows are struggling. The network already announced that 鈥淪VU,鈥� 鈥淔ire,鈥� and 鈥淧.D.鈥� are all for next season, and the James Spader drama 鈥淭he Blacklist鈥� has been a hit for NBC. But new shows 鈥淪tate of Affairs鈥� and 鈥淭he Mysteries of Laura鈥� haven鈥檛 been yet, nor have the freshman shows 鈥淐onstantine鈥� or 鈥淢arry Me.鈥� Shows 鈥淏ad Judge鈥� and 鈥淎 to Z鈥� have already been .听
And fellow network Fox recently demonstrated crossovers are still big business. According to the website , a crossover episode involving the animated sitcoms 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥� and 鈥淔amily Guy鈥� gave 鈥淔amily鈥� a season premiere that had the highest ratings in the 18-49 demographic for a premiere installment in almost four years. The crossover episode obviously brought together the devoted fan bases of each show, but it also demonstrated that shows teaming up can get big ratings.