Shawn Ryan lands new FX project, talks 'Chicago Code' closure, future plans ('The Shield' movie?) -- EXCLUSIVE

The Chicago Code fans won’t get a second season, but they will have some closure when the cop drama’s finale airs in two weeks and creator Shawn Ryan has set up an intriguing new project at FX.

Creator Shawn Ryan tells EW viewers “will get an ending” to Code, that there won’t be an abrupt cliffhanger in the storyline that fans viewers hanging.

“I knew there was a decent chance we wouldn’t last,” Ryan says of the show’s renewal odds, “but I held out hope. I’m trying to take the positive view — I’ve been working nonstop since 1997 with only a couple breaks. I’m going to use this time to recharge, take the time to figure out what went right and what went wrong with [FX’s recent drama] Terriers and Chicago Code.”

In the meantime, Ryan has a promising new project in development at FX called Nickel, with Chicago Code writer Davey Holmes as showrunner and Fox 21 producing. Here’s the pitch: “Ex-con uses a self-help book to inspire him to become a better criminal.” The tone is said to be darkly comedic in the vein of Quentin Tarantino films and Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight.

Then, starting next month, Ryan’s new overall deal kicks in at Sony, where the prolific writer will start hammering out more projects. He’s potentially looking to expand beyond doing intense crime dramas for which he’s best known. “The next thing I do will probably not be a cop show,” he says.

That said, Ryan says a movie follow-up to his acclaimed FX drama The Shield is not outside the realm of possibility.

“Michael Chiklis and I talk about that at times,” Ryan says. “I’m always reluctant to talk too much about it in the press because I wouldn’t want to give fans false hope. But if the right idea at the right time came through the Fox movie division, we’d be open to it. I’m sure there’s a movie that could be made for a price that could made sense.”