Shawn Ryan’s “The Shield” is widely regarded as one of the best crime dramas of all time; however, there were reservations about making the series. When the show was in development in 2001, it was picked up days before 9/11 happened. The tragedy in New York City prompted concerns that a show about crooked cops would be perceived as an indictment of real-life law enforcement officers. But when Denzel Washington’s “Training Day” — a movie about detectives doing bad things — was released shortly afterward, its success showed that the post-9/11 climate could handle entertainment of this ilk.
“‘Training Day’ came out in October and exceeded expectations, Denzel [Washington] won an Oscar for it,” Ryan recalled in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It made the powers that be feel more comfortable. But from tragedy came a real thirst for justice and a sense of, wherever we have to go, whatever we have to do, we’re going to do it.”
“The Shield” follows a group of Los Angeles cops led by Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and Shane Vendrell (“Fallout” star Walton Goggins) who deliver justice the hard way, ignoring every rule in the book while partaking in crimes of their own to line their own pockets. In short: They aren’t the good guys. But did the real-life social climate in the early 2000s make people more open to a great detective series about morally questionable cops?
Post 9/11 was the right time for a show like The Shield
Despite their moral shortcomings, the cops on “The Shield” built a strong track record in taking down bad guys. What’s more, rather than turn viewers off, this theme seemed to resonate with audiences when the series debuted on FX in 2002.
“[Vic] Mackey thrived in a post-9/11 environment,” Kurt Sutter told EW. “People felt, ‘I’m willing to turn the other way if I know my kids are going to sleep safely.’ To have that be the end of your pilot and say to an audience, ‘Show up next week and root for this guy,’ is tricky. I don’t think that may have been embraced at another time in history.”
In the same interview, Michael Chiklis (who had his own rocky road to starring in “The Shield”) noted that “The Shield” asked viewers one question: Are they willing to overlook law enforcement’s transgressions, provided that they keep the public safe from harm? It’s the type of quandary that was on people’s minds in the wake of 9/11, making “The Shield” a show of its time.