by: S. Scott Stanikmas

I remember coming into The Shield a little late into its original run. But after marathoning four seasons on one weekend, I was hooked on the trials and tribulations of Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and the rest of the Strike Team.

One of the things that made the show great was the way it was filmed. It had a grainy feel to it, like you were watching hidden camera footage of something that you shouldn’t be seeing. The show had a grimy feel to it, and with the subject matter and actions of the dirty cops, the look of the show was almost a character itself.

When I first heard that there were plans to bring The Shield to Blu-ray, I was a little skeptical. When cleaning up the transfer from film to 4K resolution, I was afraid that it would lose that graininess that made the show what it was.

But a string of tweets from creator Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyanTV) should put everyone’s minds at ease. Apparently Ryan is overseeing the process of transferring EVERY episode for the eventual release on streaming sites and Blu-ray:

Thrilled to announce that after months of talking/tests that Sony and Fox are moving forward with a 4K conversion of The Shield.

I was dubious going in since the gritty, grainy look of the show is so essential to its impact. But the tests really won me over.

Since we filmed on 16mm film and not digitally, Shield is an ideal candidate for this. Plus we always filmed for widescreen safe.

This will be a big project and will take some time. Current plan is to have all complete by 15th Anniversary of pilot – March, 2017.

I will personally oversee and approve the work on each episode and make sure that the quality is what it needs to be.

The tests showed that in 4K the gritty look could be maintained while updating it for a 2015 audience. It really looks spectacular.

This conversion will allow for the release of Blu-Ray DVDs as well as comply with most streaming sites that will soon be all 4K.

I pushed hard for this and want to thank everyone at Sony and Fox, especially Steve Mosko for making this happen.

I’ve always viewed The Shield as a legacy show and even when we were making it I obsessed with how it would be viewed in 10-15 years.

This 4K conversion of The Shield will allow it to live on in the digital age and I couldn’t be more excited.

Thanks to all Shield fans who clamored for this. Your voices were a big reason why Sony/Fox decided to move forward with this.

This is now one of my most anticipated Blu-ray releases. Having to wait until 2017 is a small price to pay for getting the show done the right way. I thought the show had one of the better finales of a TV show, with no real happy endings for any of the dirty cops involved.

With FOX becoming pickier and pickier about which TV titles get released on Blu-ray, I’m glad The Shield will be getting the recognition it so rightly deserves.