No fewer than nine scripted series make up the Wolf Entertainment universe on network television, with the three One Chicago shows, three Law & Order shows, and three FBI shows. Now, another scripted series is on the way, but it won't join One Chicago and Law & Order on NBC or the FBIs on CBS. The new project, called On Call, will be Wolf Entertainment's very first streaming series, and that's not the only thing that makes it fundamentally different from its fellow shows under the production company's banner. On Call will be a half-hour scripted drama coming to Prime Video.
Just when it may have seemed that Wolf Entertainment had explored just about every corner of crime-fighting scripted television, something new is on the way: stories told over 30 minutes. Sure, episodes of One Chicago and the Law & Orders only run for a little over 40 minutes without commercial breaks, but there's undoubtedly a big difference between telling a full story over the course of a half-hour vs. the more conventional length for a TV drama. While On Call may be Wolf Entertainment's first streaming series, I would say that the half-hour format is the most notable difference from the other shows!
Of the nine Wolf Entertainment shows that air on network TV and have all been renewed, seven of them center on crime-fighting, but only Chicago P.D. and the three Law & Orders focus on cops rather than feds. The premise of On Call will seemingly be more similar to those insofar as following characters on the police force rather than the FBI. Those characters will have to navigate a combination of the politics of police work and the loss of a fellow officer.
Set in Long Beach, California, On Call centers on Traci Harmon (played by former Pretty Little Liars cast member Troian Bellisario), a veteran officer tasked with training the next generation of officers while disillusioned with the job herself. Brandon Larracuente of The Good Doctor (which he is leaving at the end of the current Season 6) co-stars as Alex Diaz, an ambitious trainee who will have to try and remain optimistic in the face of challenges as a cop circa 2023.
The new show is bringing in some veterans from Chicago P.D. as executive producers, including Tim Walsh and Eriq LaSalle, the latter of whom is also directing four of the eight episodes ordered by Amazon Studios for the season. All in all, there's an impressive number of ties to the other scripted Wolf shows, including Elliot Wolf, the EVP of Digital at the production company who is co-creator and executive producer of the series. He previously opened up about working on the Dark Woods project with a Chicago Fire alum.
At the time of writing, no premiere date has been announced for the new show's arrival on Prime Video, but principal photography began earlier in April in Long Beach on location. Given that Wolf Entertainment's current slate of nine network shows were all renewed for another season – four of which have already run for more than a decade each – it's safe to say that the production company has the recipe for success on the small screen.
Still, this will be the first streaming cop drama with a 30-minute run time for the company, so it should definitely be interesting to see how it compares to the other crime shows. There's no sign at this point that On Call will share the same TV universe as the other nine shows, which have been (somewhat tangentially) tied since the first cross-network crossover between FBI and Chicago P.D. in 2020.
With the finales of the One Chicago, Law & Order, and FBI shows approaching, we can only hope that more news about On Call releases as network TV's summer hiatus approaches.
