Are the ‘Chicago Fire’ – ‘Chicago PD’ – ‘Law & Order: SVU’ crossovers a great move?

Tonight begins what should be a pretty epic couple of days of programming on NBC, as the network is busting out a three-hour spectacular that includes “Law & Order: SVU,” “Chicago PD,” and “Chicago Fire” all working together on an extended case that seems to have one constant villain (played by Dallas Roberts) carried through the three hours. This is the second time we’ve seen something this extensive throughout the course of this TV season.

With that in mind, the question is this: Do these sort of crossovers really work? At the moment, we feel like this is a question with a very polarizing answer, and how you choose to respond depends heavily on your viewing habit.

Let’s begin with why we are getting another one of these this season in the first place: Ratings. It was a commercial success the first time, so of course you are going to want to do it again. The benefit here is that not everyone traditionally watches all three shows, but if you can hype up something a la Mariska Hargitay on “Chicago Fire” or Taylor Kinney on “SVU” (just using examples here, not necessarily real ones from the show), you can get some viewers to tune in to all three hours when you wouldn’t otherwise. For those who watch all three shows, this is a treat to see how characters like Benson and Voight interact with one another.

Now, we turn to the drawbacks. For one, it very difficult to sell a story that incorporates the Special Victims Unit into cases in the Windy City, especially since you would think that the cavalry would really be federal law enforcement more so than anything else. Also, these events are probably an annoyance to a small group of viewers who really just want to watch one or two shows, and don’t have the time in the week for all three. We feel like that is a minority, but still. You also want to make sure each show is strong enough on its own.

(Photo: NBC.)