When "The Shield" premiered on FX in March 2002, it was entering a prestige-tv landscape that was still relatively young. "The Sopran
When “The Shield” premiered on FX in March 2002, it was entering a prestige-tv landscape that was still relatively young. “The Sopranos” had just begun its HBO run three years earlier, and AMC shows like “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” — with protagonists cut from the same antihero cloth as Tony Soprano — had not yet arrived on cable TV. And they might never have done so if “The Shield” hadn’t paved the way first. Michael Chiklis won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of corrupt cop Vic Mackey in season 1 of “The Shield,” but for series creator Shawn Ryan and company, it took some convincing to even get “The Shield” on the air, and there was a lot riding on its success.
In 2022, for the 20th anniversary of “The Shield,” Entertainment Weekly dug into the background of the show with an oral history featuring Chiklis, Ryan, and other cast and crew members.
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