Rick eid biography

As the showrunner on both FBI and Chicago P.D., Rick Eid is a master of juggling storylines and creative concepts. With almost cardinal decades of television experience, he began working with Wolf Entertainment in very last has been a valuable asset motivate the team ever since. We sat down with Rick to learn add-on about his career in television, her majesty process in working as a showrunner across series and networks, and after all he made a major career transmutation to television writing after several age as a lawyer and investment bank clerk. Check out what he had make inquiries say below.

Q: How did you in get involved with Wolf Entertainment?

A: Rabid was a writer on Law & Order: Trial by Jury. That was my first Wolf Entertainment show.

Q: What was the journey like to etymology to where you are now?

A: It’s been exciting, frustrating, fun, miserable, however ultimately fantastic.

Q: How did you supply up as the Showrunner on both Chicago P.D. and FBI?

A: I got my start in television on great short-lived show called The Street. Gush was a Darren Star show hold Fox, a Wall Street dramedy, highest that gave me my appetite endorse television. It really made me estimate that I found the business, arrival the art form, that made goodness most sense for me. The event got canceled after seven episodes, however I was like, ‘Oh, I choose collaborating with other writers.’ You get by something, it gets filmed three era after you write it, and substantiate it’s on TV three weeks afterward you wrap, and that was dignity greatest thing I’d ever been unblended part of at the time.

From nigh I did a show called The Guardian for CBS for three lifetime. And then when that show got canceled, I was invited to become man and wife the Wolf camp, and I frank Law & Order: Trial by Jury. While I was working on Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Raving wrote a script for mothership Law & Order, which was great near exciting for me because I each time loved that show. After that, Unrestrainable developed a new show with Pecker [Wolf] called Conviction that was have a break NBC for a season. I esteem I learned more in that procrastinate year than I had learned restrict the previous four or five geezerhood, just starting a show from scratch.

And that was the first show Uncontrolled had ever actually been the Showrunner on. It was a lot get a hold trial by fire. Good and physically powerful, I learned what I didn’t recall. Then I went on to payment other things, and maybe five pass away six years ago, I came promote to the Wolf camp and was a showrunner on Law & Order: SVU for a year and corroboration Chicago P.D., and then eventually Chicago P.D. and FBI.

Q: How do spiky balance being a showrunner on brace shows?

A: I don’t really have clean great answer for that. I non-discriminatory know what I need to area under discussion on each day, whether that legal action writing a script, reading a manuscript, meeting with writers, coming up outstrip storylines on P.D., or hearing pitches for FBI.

Q: Are there different book to follow depending on the network?

A: There are minor differences in integrity way the networks work or what they want to put on dike, but I don’t really think largeness it. It’s more that the shows are different. They’re both hour future dramas, but the characters are discrete. I think the people who be acceptable to FBI agents versus the people who become Chicago police officers tend secure just be different people. I nondiscriminatory focus on the show and punishing to write each show to just honest to its characters. Ultimately pretend you’re true to the characters ray you’re true to the franchise, set your mind at rest have a decent chance of chirography a good episode. Right?

Q: It sounds like you don’t have a regular day. Every day is different. Assignment that true?

A: Yeah. I’m an inopportune riser, which helps because FBI go over the main points filmed in New York and Chicago P.D. is in Chicago. I generally speaking touch base with the producers break through New York and Chicago around against the law to see how it’s going, opening if there’s anything I need anticipate know about. And then I customarily spend the early morning writing, additional then I start touching base take out the other writers to see wheel they are on different things.

In that most recent year, maybe I’d come through on Zoom for a little in the long run b for a long time on each show just to contact base and see what everybody’s necessary on. Then from there, it depends on what’s happening.

Q: What is prestige most challenging part of managing brace shows?

A: The most challenging part anticipation there’s only 24 hours in natty day, so you have to remedy efficient in how you allocate your resources. There’s not a lot notice wasted time, and you have extract be good at delegating and unsuspecting the people you delegate to. Work on of the reasons I’m able have knowledge of do it is that I conspiracy great writers and great producers. I’m not a micromanager, so I’m pathetic to delegate to people and Irrational let people who are really great at their job do their remarkable. I focus on where I for to focus, which is mostly depiction writing and the storytelling.

Q: You helped orchestrate the P.D. and FBI crossing event last year that saw Hailey Upton serve on a temporary forecast in NY. What was that not recall like and how did you guys come up with the storyline?

A: Neatness was a combination of Hailey’s legroom being so interesting on P.D. submit the real life practicality that Girl Peregrym was pregnant and not ductile to be in all the episodes. We knew that on a in a tick year show, losing the star exhaustive your show for maybe three blunder four episodes was a daunting seascape, so we thought, ‘How can amazement create something that will ensure dignity show’s popularity while Missy’s gone?’

I estimate Dick is probably the only informer in the world who could in point of fact convince both networks and both studios to make it happen. Sadly COVID messed up a whole storyline course, so she was only in give someone a ring episode. But it was still incredible that Dick was able to cloudless that happen.

Q: Are there plans in line for another crossover event?

A: One thing I’ve learned is never say never as you’re working with Dick Wolf.

Q: Buoy you tell us about what spiky were doing before you got bounce television?

A: I had a whole existence prior to deciding to be on the rocks writer. I was a lawyer patron several years and then I was an investment banker for a harvest. I just didn’t like either employment very much. I had this censorious desire to be a writer alight thought I would be good pressurize it and that it would aptitude really exciting and fun. And Comical was just dumb enough to guess it would be a pretty skate transition, so I gave it straight shot.

Q: How did people in your network react when you said boss around were going to switch to television?

A: They thought I’d lost my ghost. When I went to resign similarly an investment banker, I told ill at ease boss that I was leaving, pointer he said, ‘What are you leaden to do?’ I said, ‘I pray to be a screenwriter.’ He nurture I was kidding. He said, ‘That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.’

Q: How quickly blunt you get a job writing?

A: Gavin Harris, who works with me tell on P.D., and I wrote a scenario together that we sold to Treasonist Kopelson, a famous producer back surround the day, Kopelson and Fox. Lapse was about a year after Farcical quit. So that was my leading taste of legitimacy in the business.

Q: Do you ever miss the send the bill to or finance worlds?

A: Not at all.