50 Fun Facts About The Shield

On which network did The Shield air from 2002 to 2008?

It was the channel's first drama series, greenlit to set the tone for the network in the shadow of The Sopranos.

Who created The Shield?

He had been writing for Angel and Nash Bridges and wanted to write something far darker to get the upbeat scripts out of his system.

Which real LAPD scandal was the Strike Team loosely based on?

'Rampart' was seriously considered as the series title and even used in early promotional ads.

What is the fictional Los Angeles district where The Shield is set?

Nicknamed 'the Farm', it is rife with gang violence, drug trafficking and prostitution.

The police station known as 'the Barn' was converted from what kind of building?

In season 6 Claudette fights to keep the Barn from being shut down.

Who plays Vic Mackey?

He shaved his head and lost significant weight for the audition, shedding a soft reputation from The Commish and Daddio.

Besides Mackey, which three detectives make up the original Strike Team?

They coerce information, stage arrests and skim from drug busts while Captain Aceveda looks on suspiciously.

Which Strike Team recruit does Mackey shoot dead in the pilot episode?

Crowley was a plant placed by Aceveda and the Justice Department; the killing hangs over the whole series.

Which film's alternate ending inspired the pilot's shocking conclusion?

Ryan imagined Al Pacino's mobster shooting Johnny Depp's undercover agent, having known his identity all along.

What is the name of the politically ambitious captain who runs the Barn at the start?

He tolerates the Strike Team's methods because their results help his campaign for mayor.

What is the nickname of detective Holland Wagenbach?

He spends season 1 convinced a serial killer is targeting prostitutes, and the final season fixated on a kid he thinks will become one.

Which Strike Team member is blackmailed by drug lord Antwon Mitchell in season 4?

Mackey and new captain Monica Rawling get him out of it, reunite the team and put Mitchell in jail.

In season 2 the Strike Team robs the 'money train' of which criminal organization?

The train shipped laundered money out of the country; the heist left the team with millions.

Who was the highly intelligent immigrant uniting Hispanic gangs in the first half of season 2?

Claudette's investigation into him is hampered by Mackey and Aceveda, pushing her toward a more active moral role.

In season 3, who impulsively burns most of the money train cash?

Some of the money had been marked by the Treasury; the burning led to the Strike Team's dissolution.

Which federal agency had marked part of the stolen money train cash?

The team spent season 3 diverting federal attention from their activities.

Captain Monica Rawling is dismissed in season 4 over which policy?

Aceveda later exploits the same seizures policy to gain power on the city council.

Which Internal Affairs lieutenant investigates the Strike Team in season 5?

He targets Lemansky as a way in; Mackey tries to humiliate him to prove the probe is personal.

Which teammate murders Lem with a grenade at the end of season 5?

In season 6 the team at first suspects a gang; when the truth emerges he turns to the Armenian mob for protection.

What was the 15-minute 'promosode' bridging seasons 5 and 6 called?

It premiered on Google Video in February 2007, dealt with Lemansky's funeral and cost up to $1 million.

FX's ten 2007 episodes were originally intended to be what?

FX chose to label its 10 episodes as a separate season instead.

In season 6, the Internal Affairs lieutenant is arrested after admitting to what?

He had kept investigating outside Internal Affairs after the official probe collapsed.

Which uniformed officer joins the Strike Team in season 6 under Kevin Hiatt?

His earlier arc involved the conflict between his Christian beliefs and his homosexuality.

In the final season, Mackey trades his cartel bust for immunity and a job with which agency?

He then learns he will be a desk analyst with no real power, and walks out hearing sirens in the distance.

Which Strike Team member does Mackey betray in the finale, leaving him to be arrested?

Gardocki is arrested for the team's crimes while Mackey is shielded by his immunity deal.

What does Shane do after his attempt to kill Mackey fails in the final season?

With no leverage left over Mackey, he and his family had become fugitives.

What does Mackey's ex-wife Corrine do at the end of the series?

She is frightened when she finally grasps everything Vic is.

Roughly how much in-story time do the seven seasons cover?

The show ran six and a half real years, from March 2002 to November 2008.

Which 2001 film's success reassured Fox that audiences would accept corrupt-cop drama after 9/11?

Fox had worried viewers would not want police portrayed negatively; the pilot finally aired in March 2002.

Which FX executive greenlit The Shield in 2001?

He wanted an antihero show but thought the cop genre was tired, until he read Ryan's script.

Ryan wrote the part of Mackey imagining which actor's personality?

He doubted they would find the right actor until Chiklis's audition surprised him.

Which two earlier shows had given Chiklis a 'soft' reputation before The Shield?

He took six months off, lost weight and shaved his head before the audition.

Who directed both the pilot and the series finale?

He had starred in Homicide: Life on the Street and made his directing debut there.

Which Shawshank Redemption director helmed an episode of The Shield?

He later reunited with Shield writers Eglee, Mazzara and Fierro on The Walking Dead.

Which playwright and filmmaker directed an episode and later made The Unit with Ryan?

Screenwriter Ted Griffin also wrote a single episode and later created Terriers with Ryan as a fellow producer.

Which Shield consulting producer left to develop the serial-killer drama Dexter?

Kurt Sutter, a first-season staff writer, went on to create Sons of Anarchy.

Which Emmy did the star of The Shield win for the first season?

The pilot was also nominated for directing and writing; the series earned six Emmy nominations in all.

Which film star's season-4 role earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress?

She also received a Golden Globe nomination for the role of the new captain.

Which actress won two consecutive Satellite Awards for the series?

She plays Claudette Wyms, who becomes the Barn's captain in season 5.

Which Oscar-winning actor was nominated for a Satellite Award for his supporting role on the show?

The series also won the Satellite Award for Best Television Series, Drama.

The Shield won which Golden Globe in 2003 besides Chiklis's acting award?

Chiklis received three consecutive Globe nominations for Best Actor, winning the first.

The premiere's 4.1 rating set a record for a drama on what?

Complaints from the Parents Television Council still cost the show advertisers including Burger King and Office Depot.

Which magazine named The Shield the 8th-best TV show of the 2000s?

It wrote that Vic Mackey 'didn't just clean up the streets—he cleaned up on the streets'.

What Metacritic score did season 1 of The Shield receive?

The final season scored 85; The Guardian later ranked the show 77th among the century's best.

What was the title of the 2004 IDW comic book limited series based on the show?

Written by Jeff Mariotte, the five issues involved a murdered journalist and a stolen-art scheme.

The 2007 video game bridged the gap after which season of the show?

The third-person shooter for PS2 and PC followed a gang war between the Byz-Lats and the One-Niners, to poor reviews.

Which company released the complete series on Blu-ray in December 2018?

Ryan had announced a 4K conversion back in 2015; the set added new exclusive featurettes.

How many episodes were in the seventh and final season?

It ran from September 2 to November 25, 2008; season 3 was the longest at 15 episodes.

Which fellow officer is having an affair with Mackey in season 1?

She is training Julien Lowe at the time, and later raises a son while working as a sergeant.

In season 2, Aceveda agrees to protect Mackey while he runs for what?

His longer-term ambition throughout the series is to become mayor of Los Angeles.