And the Winner of Litter Season is....

Right now we are currently in what I like to call "Litter Season", when all the networks litter our screens with tons of mid-season pickups, most of which are cancelled.  This painful time in television lasts from January to mid March.  Now, not all of these pickups end in disaster.  If you recall ABC's Scandal (created by the Genius that is Shonda Rhimes) was picked up in March of 2012 and only ran for seven episodes.  Scandal is now one of the most successful shows in primetime.  I never like to base my opinion of a show solely on its first episode so now that many of them have run two or three episodes I'd like to announce my winner of this Litter Season:

NBC's Chicago P.D.

Why this show? Good question.  To be completely I only watched the show because of actress Sophia Bush (best known as Brooke Davis on One Tree Hill).  I am not a fan of police dramas such as Law and Order: SVU or Criminal Minds and Chicago P.D. has many of the same elements of those shows after all, it was created by Dick Wolf, the man who is responsible for Law and Order and its spinoffs.  Here's why I think this show will avoid cancellation after Litter Season. SPOILERS BELOW. 

1.) The actors have undeniable chemistry: All of them not just two or three.  With the events that happen in the first two episodes the characters should have some previous connection.  The thing with this cast is that you feel that.  Some new casts take a few episodes to find that connection or that groove. Chicago P.D. has that right off the bat. 

2.) The show goes there in the first episode: A member of their police family dies. In the first episode. After pretty much getting shot in the face. At the end of the episode Antonio's (Jon Seda) son is kidnapped. Yes. They go there. Already. 

3.) It shows both sides of the law: From the very beginning the show acknowledges crooked cops.  Where most police dramas will have an entire story arc about a crooked cop or be surprised by one this show not only acknowledges that they exist but Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) was imprisoned for being one.  Now he runs the intelligence unit, the unit which the show is based around.  It's revealed at the end of the second episode that he was released from prison to work for Internal Affairs.  Should make a very interesting storyarc.  

4.) The first episode brought in 11 million viewers: that's a lot of people 

5.) No one character washes out the other: while the story focuses on Hank the other characters are still present.  You learn little bits and pieces about each one throughout the first two episodes but the writers leave you curious to find out more.  That's a factor that will keep people coming back. 

Chicago P.D., which is a spinoff of Chicago Fire, will still have to work to maintain good, clear story but so far I believe that they're off to a good start.   Chicago P.D. airs on Wednesday at 10 p.m. on NBC.

UPDATE: After further review of the new shows I've decided to award a second place!  And just to clarify this show is just as good as Chicago P.D. and should actually tie, however the way the order of events in the very beginning of the first episode made the first six or seven minutes a little confusing.  But aside from that the show is different that whats out there now and like many great shows its the chemistry of the two leads that makes the show work. Second Place goes to

CBS' Intelligence

Intelligence stars Lost's Josh Holloway and Once Upon A Time's Meghan Ory.  The chemistry between the actors as well as their characters Gabriel Vaughn and Riley Neal remind me of the chemistry between Booth and Brennan on the Fox hit Bones or Castle and Beckett on ABC's Castle.   I truly believe that it's their chemistry that will keep the show afloat.  The story itself reminds me of the Bionic Woman reboot that failed a few years ago, however I think Intelligence has a large enough fan base already so it should see a sophomore season.  Intelligence airs on Mondays at 10 p.m. on CBS.