Chicago-filmed ‘APB’ gives a twist to TV crime genre

Justin Kirk says shooting his new Fox TV crime drama “APB” (premiering at 8 p.m. Monday on WFLD-Channel 32) in Chicago “is very appropriate.”

“But, while Chicago’s crime statistics only add to all that, doing a true Chicago police show in 2017 is certainly a lot to shoulder for all of us involved with ‘APB,’ ” the actor says. “There are many stories to tell there, and I hope we do it in an accurate and consistent way.”

Kirk plays Gideon Reeves, a billionaire tech guru who is deeply affected by a violent crime that takes the life of his business partner and best friend. In the aftermath, Reeves comes up with an intriguing concept: He’ll buy a troubled, crime-ridden police precinct in Chicago and reboot it as a private police force.

“I like the possibilities of this situation,” Kirk says. “You can think this is a novel and perhaps great new idea on how to battle crime. Yet, on the other hand, you might go, ‘Oh, wait, maybe this isn’t such a good idea to give that kind of power to one individual.’ Looking at the pitfalls that lie therein gives us a lot of things to explore.

“You know what they say: ‘Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’”

Speaking of power, the show’s producers even took the liberty of casting as the mayor an actor (Nestor Serrano) whose demeanor — if not exact physicality — is somewhat reminiscent of Chicago’s own Rahm Emanuel.

“APB” executive producer Trey Callaway, a longtime producer on “CSI: New York,” has given a lot of thought to the conflicts between police and the communities they serve.

“Of course, the show addresses issues that are specific to Chicago,” Callaway says. “But we also frequently deal with some wider, systemic issues that we’re all aware of across the country. There is clearly a crisis in policing today.”

He calls police work an “incredibly noble profession” that touches many lives.

“Whether it’s a car accident or our home broken into or, God forbid, something worse, people do have to reach for the phone and dial 911,” he says. “That’s when a lot of brave men and women made the decision to put themselves in harm’s way to save your life or stop a crime or sometimes both.”

Callaway says police “are often thought of like public school teachers in that we expect the world from them and generally give them very little in return.

“Cops are often tasked with cleaning up the messes that are created by societal problems,” he says. “When they sometimes address some of those — when they’re just trying to keep the peace — that can lead to the kinds of controversies that we’ve seen so frequently in the headlines.”

Callaway likes the idea of seeing what can happen when a billionaire provides the tools a tough police district needs, to see whether that marriage of technology and manpower can lower the crime rate.

“Given the city’s huge amount of gun violence and crime, Chicago seemed like a great opportunity for us to showcase — even fictionally — a law enforcement experiment.

“All of the technology on the show is real and available today,” Callaway says, “if only a real police department had the budget and financial resources to bring it on. We never want this show to feel like science fiction. So the 650-horsepower Cadillac with bulletproof windows and tires is real. The same is true for the state-of-the-art surveillance drones and the non-lethal-option Taser guns.

“Yet, as cool as all those ‘toys’ are, we don’t want technology to solve all of our problems. Because it can’t. We also want to give our character the kinds of civil liberty and privacy issues police personnel — in the end — will need to deal with.”

Callaway says the show has “shot all over the city but not just in the usual, iconic places like Millennium Park. When we needed to find just the right neighborhood joint or the perfect Mexican bodega, we were able to choose from the wide array of great neighborhoods that Chicago has to offer.”

As is the case with the four Dick Wolf NBC series — especially “Chicago P.D.” and “Chicago Fire” — “APB” showcases numerous references to Chicago, to Evanston and other suburbs, and to specific addresses and points of interest in the city — particularly on the South Side, where the show’s fictional 13th Police District is located.

While scenes often include the L, the Chicago River and other iconic locales, sometimes the reality of our local climate can be overlooked. Kirk laughs as he recalls shooting the last episode of the series’ 12-episode season.

“You could tell that a number of our writers were out in Burbank,” he says. “Otherwise, they might not have thought it was a good idea for that episode to be shot outside in January. Brilliant, right?

“I’m not wearing a coat for those scenes because of the time of year it’s supposed to be,” he says.

Kirk says he’s liked doing the show in Chicago.

“Whether or not we get picked up for a second season,” he says, “I have fallen in love with Chicago, and I’ll come back anytime.”