This is a busy week for Dick Wolf.
The “Law & Order” creator is promoting the Tuesday release of his second detective/police novel, “The Execution,” a follow-up to “The Intercept” and once again featuring protagonist Jeremy Fisk. He’s also overseeing the Wednesday-night premiere of his new NBC series, “Chicago P.D.” and anticipating the second-season return (Jan. 17 on TNT) of his true-crime series “Cold Justice” with stars Kelly Siegler and Yolanda McClary.
“After years of producing the ‘Law & Order’-branded scripted crime dramas, I’m extremely proud that our first non-scripted series [‘Cold Justice’] has not only become a hit, but has also resulted in real-life confessions that have closed high-profile cases around the country,” says Wolf. “In the first 11 episodes alone, there have been multiple confessions and indictments — and one felon has been sent to prison.”
Regarding “The Execution,” which hits stores Tuesday, Wolf says “some [detective/police] stories are too big to cover in an hour of television,” giving him ample opportunity to tackle the genre in novel form.
“I used the NYPD Intelligence Unit as a backdrop because it provides a gold mine of story possibilities for Fisk,” he says. “As much as the threats — narco-terrorists in ‘The Execution’ and Muslim fundamentalists in ‘The Intercept’ — what also attracts me about these stories is the possibility of exploring the things that drive the people involved in counter-terrorism on a daily basis.
“For example, there is an incredible psychological toll when operating under the premise that the only good days are the ones in which nothing happens,” he says. “Couple that with constant anxiety about the cost of failure against enemies who are often unknown, illustrates why Fisk is an idiosyncratic, yet totally disciplined, investigator.”
Speaking of a “disciplined investigator,” how about the fact that Netflix users rate “Perry Mason” star Raymond Burr as their favorite actor, according to an article in The Atlantic delving into how the streaming service has categorized nearly 77,000 different genres (movies, TV shows) tied to users’ tastes. Rock on. I knew there was a reason I’ve spent so much time watching the complete “Perry Mason” series (all 271 episodes, 1957-66) on DVD — and even in reruns on Hallmark Movie Channel (yes, I’ve seen ’em all already — doesn’t matter). Oh, and Burr’s “Perry Mason” co-star, Barbara Hale, now 91? She ranked seventh on Netflix. You go, girl.