Dick Wolf is legendary for the many successful TV shows he's launched and branched out to create franchises, with most of his hits airing on NBC with the Law & Order and Chicago series. So, it came as a surprise to many when news broke in 2017 that Wolf was taking his talents to CBS for FBI. Airing on a different network seemingly meant that crossovers between FBI and the the NBC shows -- several of which cross over pretty frequently -- couldn't happen. Now, that may not be the case.
Back in June, Dick Wolf revealed that he was eyeing a crossover between FBI (or spinoff FBI: Most Wanted), and one of his NBC shows, which include Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med. Such a crossover hasn't been confirmed, but Wolf stated that both networks were interested and it was a matter of whether they "can figure it out." So, is there still interest in such a crossover, months later?
Rick Eid, who is showrunner on both NBC's Chicago P.D. and CBS' FBI (as well as former SVU showrunner), recently chatted with CinemaBlend. When I asked if there would be interest moving forward in a cross-network Dick Wolf crossover if the stars aligned, he said this:
If the stars were to align, we would be open to the possibility of the two-network crossover.
That's something! A crossover between the two biggest broadcast TV networks is a tall order. Of course, it's not unprecedented for characters from two different channels to share a crossover, as Barry Allen of The Flash jumped from The CW to CBS for an episode of Supergirl during Supergirl's single season on the Eye Network.
That said, The CW is a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, so there was a connection to make the crossover more straightforward. The prospect of a CBS/NBC crossover is unprecedented, even with a mutual executive producer like Dick Wolf. It may take a lot for the stars to align, whether or not there's interest from the shows in crossing over.
Of course, there are key differences between FBI and the Dick Wolf shows on NBC that could make a crossover complicated, even if NBC and CBS do work out a way to make it happen. With the exception of Law & Order: SVU, the NBC Wolf shows are set in Chicago, and none of the NBC shows are based in a federal agency. Still, if anybody could pull off a crossover between any of these, Dick Wolf and his team of producers surely could!
Rick Eid alone has experience on more than one of the Dick Wolf shows, and actively working as showrunner on both FBI and Chicago P.D. When I asked if he thought P.D. would be a good fit to cross over with FBI, this was his response:
I think P.D. would be a good fit. I think probably Law & Order: SVU would be a good fit as well.
Both P.D. and Law & Order: SVU obviously deal in law enforcement, so they would have probably have better reason to interaction with Maggie, O.A., and the rest on FBI than the characters of Chicago Med and Chicago Fire. A crossover between FBI and SVU would likely be the most straightforward; both series are set in New York City, and SVU does deal with the FBI semi-regularly. If anything, the question would be why the characters haven't interacted before if the crossover does happen!
That said, I could see a crossover between FBI and Chicago P.D. working, and not just because Rick Eid helms both series. The Intelligence Unit of P.D. has crossed state lines to chase down a case before, such as the episode in Season 6 that saw Upton and Burgess in hot water after a mission at a Wisconsin gun show went wrong.
While the episode did result in some bonding between the two women of Intelligence (for now) despite the reveal that could have caused problems between them, it also proved that Chicago P.D. doesn't always have to showcase the P.D. actually in Chicago.
And that's not even the only example of Chicago-based Dick Wolf characters mingling with New York-based Dick Wolf characters for a crossover, although previous instances did take place entirely on NBC. The Chicago shows and Law & Order: SVU do share a universe, even if the opportunity for crossover isn't quite as readily available as between Med, Fire, and P.D.
Mariska Hargitay has appeared appeared as Olivia Benson in one episode of Chicago Fire and three episodes of Chicago P.D. Sophia Bush, who played Erin Lindsay on P.D. for the first four seasons, appeared in four episodes of SVU.
Also with appearances on SVU are P.D.'s Jesse Lee Soffer, a.k.a. Jay Halstead who may be a big part of some P.D. tension in Season 7, Jason Beghe as Hank Voight, Jon Seda (who will no longer be around as Antonio Dawson starting in Season 7), and Marina Squerciati as Kim Burgess. In a fun twist, both Squerciati and Patrick John Flueger (who plays Ruzek on P.D.) have appeared on SVU as non-P.D. characters prior to the launch of the second Chicago show. That's what comes of a TV show running for 20+ years!
Of course, FBI has plenty on its plate with its own cases as well as the launch of a spinoff, and the three Chicago series have their own mega-crossover coming up that should be positively cinematic. In fact, a Chicago Med showrunner let CinemaBlend in on what the crossover will be about.
As for SVU, who can say what Detective Benson and Co. can get up to in the new season? Records are already being broken, so I wouldn't put much beyond what SVU can accomplish. It hasn't lasted for 21 seasons so far by accident!
Only time will tell if a crossover between networks for the various Dick Wolf series can actually happen, as much fun as it is to imagine. What we can say for sure is that all five of the Dick Wolf series will be back on the airwaves this fall.
FBI's premiere is Tuesday, September 24 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, with all three NBC Chicago shows premiering Wednesday, September 25 starting with Med at 8 p.m. ET, continuing with Fire at 9 p.m. ET, and concluding with P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. As for SVU, the first episode of Season 21 airs Thursday, September 26 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.
