RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
‘ Chicago Justice’ star says stories from real news will be series key
The star of “Chicago Justice,” the fourth TV series set in Our Town and developed by television mogul Dick Wolf, is convinced its ultimate success will hinge on “touching on hot- button issues— something we’re doing right out of the gate.”
Philip Winchester stars as top Cook County state’s attorney prosecutor Peter Stone on “Chicago Justice,” which will premiere at 9 p.m. Wednesday in a special crossover with “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P. D .” The character is the son of Manhattan District Attorney Ben Stone, played by Michael Moriarty on Wolf’s original “Law & Order.”
As for those hot- button issues, Winchester gives the credit to longtime “Law & Order” executive producer Michael Chernuchin, brought in by Wolf to lead the “Chicago Justice” team of writers. Chernuchin “writes about things like he did on ‘ Law & Order.’ He writes about things that piss him off,” said the actor with a laugh. “It’s always straight out of the headlines. People will see things on our show just weeks after an event happens in real life. It’s all very culturally relevant. … At our very first meeting, Michael told me he wants half the people in the audience to throw their shoes at the TV and half the people to celebrate what they’re watching.
“He told me, ‘ If half the people are happy and half the people are angry— because they think the wrong thing happened in court, or the guy gets away with a crime— then that means we’re doing good TV.’ ”
The actor ticked off a number of topics audiences will see in this first season of “Chicago Justice.”
“The first episode deals with a case of arson involving a sort of entitled millennial who gets lost inside a fake reality on the internet. We then jump into police brutality in episode two. In the third episode we’re all about Muslim extremism and a self- radicalized student who is killed by his roommate, who sees it as an act of valor.”
Other episodes will deal with gang- related homicide and innocent people being killed in drive- by shootings.
“We will keep our finger on the pulse of the city,” added Winchester. “It’s amazing. All the episodes we’ve filmed so far deal with things I’ve heard about in the news within the past six months.”
As for the time he’s spending in Chicago, Winchester pointed to a couple of major cultural institutions as being important to him and his wife, Megan Marie.
“We have a 2- year- old girl. She’s mad about dinosaurs, so I spend a lot of time over at the Field Museum. It’s our new favorite place, hanging out with ‘ Sue,’ the Lions of Tsavo and the elephants in there. We also spend a lot of time at the [ Shedd] Aquarium too.
“In fact, I think my favorite view of Chicago is looking back north from the Planetarium. That’s an amazing sight!”
Namir Smallwood joins Steppenwolf ensemble
Namir Smallwood, now appearing in Steppenwolf Theatre’s world premiere production of Walter Dean Myers’ “Monster,” has been named a new ensemble member of the world- famous Chicago theater company. In a statement, Steppenwolf’s artistic director Anna D. Shapiro noted she has “been a fan of Namir’s since the first time I saw him on stage, here at Steppenwolf. His ability to transform, inhabit and magnify each moment is truly astonishing, and we are excited for all that he will bring to the company.”
Smallwood previously has appeared in a number of Chicago theater productions, including “The Grapes of Wrath” ( Gift Theatre), “East Texas Hot Links” ( Writers Theatre) and Steppenwolf productions of “Man in Love” and “Hot L Baltimore,” and “Charm,” produced by Northlight Theatre at Steppenwolf.
Pitchfork announces festival headliners
LCD Soundsystem will headline the opening night of the Pitchfork Music Festival on July 14, producers announced Monday, with A Tribe Called Quest following on July 15 and Solange closing out the Union Park festival on July 16.
Daily tickets are now $ 75; a three- day pass will set you back $ 175. For tickets, go to