'Saturday Night Live' Expands Dick Wolf's Chicago Empire With 'Chicago Improv'

Saturday Night Live created its own spin-off of another show this week with a pre-taped Chicago [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Saturday Night Live created its own spin-off of another show this week with a pre-taped Chicago Improv sketch, adding an unlikely show to Dick Wolf's Chicago universe.

The sketch featured most of the main cast, alongside host Tina Fey, whose career began in Chicago in real life.

The writers parodied some of the hallmark elements of Chicago P.D. and Chicago Fire, including the shows' use of inside baseball lingo. In the case of Improv though, the shop talk is even more obscure to the average viewer.

"What the hell was everything they just said?" asked a New York Times review of the show.

"Watch as people wearing plaid balance love and ambition in America's number three comedy market," the narrator said.

The show also included fire imagery ripped from Chicago Fire, which was really misleading. One critic wondered if Wolf lost a bet. A Hollywood Reporter critic complained that there were not enough "pretty people" in the show.

Chicago Improv's slogan is "Life doesn't ask for a suggestion."

NBC, the network that airs SNL, is home to Wolf's complete Chicago line-up, which includes Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. All three shows will air on Wednesdays this fall.

Fans on Twitter loved the sketch. "Dick Wolf's Chicago Improv was the best SNL short film since the last time the Cubs won the World Series against a team other than the Indians," one viewer wrote.

"Chicago Improv had me DEAD. So good," one fan wrote.

Those who joined improv groups knew exactly where the sketch was coming from.

Others are hoping Chicago Improv becomes a real show.

Photo Credit: NBC

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