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He most recently appeared on the network's short-lived drama 'The Player.'
Philip Winchester is headed for court.
The Strike Back alum is set to star in NBC's Chicago Law (working title), The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Winchester is the first actor to be cast in the third spinoff from the network's successful Chicago Fire franchise. Following the success of Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med, all of which have been renewed for the 2016-2017 season, NBC officially put the project into development last month.
Although the project is officially in development, no formal pilot order has been made. Chicago Law will likely go the same route as P.D. and Med, and instead be launched as a backdoor pilot during an episode of one of the other Chicago series, in this case most likely Chicago P.D.
Winchester's early casting raises questions about whether he will also be introduced even earlier into P.D. -- another common practice within the Chicago universe. Two of Chicago Med's stars recurred frequently on the sister series before the hospital drama's November debut, as did several P.D. series regulars on Fire.
After four seasons on the Cinemax action drama Strike Back, Winchester fielded multiple pilot offers before deciding on The Player, which saw him star opposite Wesley Snipes. The series failed to deliver in the ratings and saw its initial episode order trimmed before it quietly went off the air for good.
In addition to the three other Chicago series, Chicago Law would join prolific producer Dick Wolf's long-running drama Law & Order: SVU. The Mariska Hargitay-led drama was renewed for an 18th season earlier this month when Wolf signed a new overall deal with NBC that will take him through to 2020.
Pilot Season
