New lawyer series on Fox from ‘Empire’ creator will shoot in Chicago

Fox has ordered a new series about lawyers from one of the creators of “Empire,” and like that hip-hop-flavored hit, it is expected to be shot in Chicago.

“Proven Innocent” will star Rachelle Lefevre, who played reporter Julia Shumway on CBS’ “Under the Dome,” as the head of a law firm that investigates cases believed to be wrongful convictions.

It comes from producer Danny Strong, who created “Empire” with filmmaker Lee Daniels.

Also in the cast are Russell Hornsby (“Grimm”), Riley Smith (“Frequency”), Nikki M. James (“The Book of Mormon”) and Vincent Kartheiser (“Mad Men”). The series pilot was shot in Chicago earlier in the spring, and a spokesman for producing company Twentieth Century Fox Television told the Sun-Times, “I know of no plans to move the show.”

That makes five broadcast network series filming here, along with “Empire” and NBC’s trio of “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.” and “Chicago Med.” All were renewed for another season in recent days.

The series order comes a year after the cancellation of another locally made law show, the “Chicago P.D.” spinoff “Chicago Justice.”