''Chaos'' (stylized as ''CHAOS'') is an American
comedic drama television series that aired on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
from April 1, to July 16, 2011, as a
mid-season replacement
In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after a sh ...
for ''
The Defenders''.
Premise
Threats to national security are investigated by a group of rogue
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
spies in the division of Clandestine Homeland Administration and Oversight Services (CHAOS), also trying to keep their jobs from being eliminated due to budget cuts. New agent Rick Martinez (
Freddy Rodriguez) joins the team as an in-house
mole
Mole (or Molé) may refer to:
Animals
* Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America
* Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
for CIA
National Clandestine Service Director H.J. Higgins (
Kurtwood Smith
Kurtwood Larson Smith (born July 3, 1943) is an American television and film actor. He is known for playing Clarence Boddicker in ''RoboCop'' (1987), Robert Griggs in ''Rambo III'' (1988), and Red Forman in ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), as ...
). However, Martinez is quickly found out by the ODS (Office of Disruptive Services) team, who "turn" him for their own use.
Cast
*
Freddy Rodriguez as CIA Field Agent/Operative Rick Martinez
*
Christina Cole
Christina Cole (born 8 May 1982) is an English actress known for portraying Cassie Hughes in the Sky One supernatural television series '' Hex''.
Early life
Born in London, Cole is the eldest of three siblings. She has a younger sister, Cassand ...
as NCS Deputy Director Adele Ferrer
*
Carmen Ejogo
Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo (; born 22 October 1973) as
Intelligence Officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way a ...
Fay Carson
*
James Murray as Field Agent/Operative Billy Collins
*
Tim Blake Nelson
Timothy Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American actor and playwright.
Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000), Gideon in ''Minority Report'' (2002), Dr. Pendan ...
as Field Agent/Operative Casey Malick
*
Eric Close
Eric Randolph Close (born May 24, 1967) is an American actor, best known for his roles in television series, particularly as FBI agent Martin Fitzgerald in the CBS mystery drama ''Without a Trace'' (2002–2009) and Teddy Conrad in the ABC m ...
as Field Agent/Operative Michael Dorset
*
Kurtwood Smith
Kurtwood Larson Smith (born July 3, 1943) is an American television and film actor. He is known for playing Clarence Boddicker in ''RoboCop'' (1987), Robert Griggs in ''Rambo III'' (1988), and Red Forman in ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), as ...
as NCS Director H. J. Higgins
Development and production
In January 2010, CBS ordered production of a
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
written by
Tom Spezialy
Tom Spezialy is an American television producer, director and screen writer. In 2007, began serving as executive producer of ''Reaper''.
Career
Spezialy began his career in 1989 writing for the CBS television series '' Doctor Doctor''. He has als ...
. Casting announcements began in mid-February, with Freddy Rodriguez being the first actor cast. Next to come on board were James Murray and Tim Blake Nelson. Eric Close joined the cast in early March, followed by Carmen Ejogo. Finally,
Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', ''Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Award ...
completed the main cast in mid-March. The pilot was filmed in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
In late July, CBS announced that it had officially ordered 13 episodes of the series for a mid-season start. Kurtwood Smith joined the cast in November 2010, replacing Rea in the role of Director H.J. Higgins.
Starting in mid-December 2010, ''CHAOS'' film crews were spotted and the actors photographed at various set locations around
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
– at the
Vancouver Rowing Club
Vancouver Rowing Club (VRC) is a rowing club in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Originally formed in 1886 as the Vancouver Boating Club, the first clubhouse was built a year later. In 1890 one of the city's early athletic rivalries began whe ...
, in
Gastown
Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest section of the Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver.
Its hi ...
, on the rooftop of
The Bay, at the Terminal City Iron Works, and at mansions in the
Shaughnessy and
Point Grey
Point Grey ( Squamish: Elḵsn) is a headland marking the southern entrance to English Bay and Burrard Inlet. The headland is the site of Wreck Beach, Tower Beach, Point Grey Beach and most notably, since 1925, on its top is the Point Grey Campu ...
neighborhoods – with these locations standing in for exotic locales around the world.
On April 15, 2011, the CBS series went on hiatus after 3 episodes due to low ratings.
After ''CHAOS'' was removed from CBS's schedule on April 19, filming on the remaining episodes continued in and around
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
until the originally scheduled completion date of May 2.
Episodes
For unknown reasons CBS aired the episodes out of chronological order. The production codes in the episode table reveal the originally intended order.
International distribution
In Canada, the show was
simsubbed on the
Global Television Network
The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...
. In New Zealand, the show had a late-night slot from October 4, 2013 through to the end of December on
TV3.
Reception
Critical reception
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
assigned ''CHAOS'' a score of 50, signifying mixed or average reviews.
Ratings
The series premiered with 6.53 million viewers and a 1.1 rating in the adults 18–49 demo.
The rating equaled the lowest ratings achieved by
''Medium'' and
''The Defenders'' in the same slot, also the lowest rating for any CBS drama this season.
Hiatus
CBS removed the series from the schedule on April 18, 2011, after airing three episodes of the 13-episode order, and placed it on hiatus. The series resumed with episode 4 and episode 5 on May 28. The final episodes aired on Saturdays at 8 pm Eastern.
Awards
Series star
Freddy Rodriguez won an Imagen Award in the category "Best Actor/Television" from The
Imagen Foundation
The Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry." To be considered for an Imagen Award, a media piece or person ...
for his role as Rick Martinez in ''CHAOS'' on August 12, 2011.
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, 1591468, CHAOS
Press Releases for each episode at TheFutonCritic
2010s American comedy-drama television series
2011 American television series debuts
2011 American television series endings
American action adventure television series
CBS original programming
English-language television shows
Espionage television series
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
Television series by CBS Studios
Television shows filmed in Vancouver
Television shows set in Virginia