Glenn Close Saved One Of TV's Greatest Cop Shows From Cancellation

"The Shield" is one of the best prestige TV shows nobody talks about anymore, but its eventual seven-season run wasn't always a sure thing.

As FX Networks chairman John Landgraf told Entertainment Weekly, "Shield" ratings "fell off considerably in Season 3 and entered a trajectory that likely would've yielded a cancellation." He and other network executives considered "bringing in a movie star" to get more people watching, and that's where Glenn Close came in.

"TV still was a poor cousin to feature films, but John [Landgraf], Peter [Liguori], and Shawn [Ryan] came to my apartment — and I don't think I'd even seen the show, but John made me curious and want to proceed," Close told Entertainment Weekly. "He was very articulate about his philosophy on how you nurture and support creative minds."

"The Shield" saw Close play Monica Rawling, the captain of the precinct where Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his team were based. Discussing Close's casting with TODAY at the time, series creator Ryan teased that Close's police chief would be a game changer for the series: "We think this is an extremely unique, dynamic character that shakes our 'Shield' world upside-down over the course of the entire season."

Be that as it may, Close took some convincing before boarding the FX series. What changed her mind, despite television being regarded, then, as "lesser" to movies, was something no good actor can resist.

While television wasn't every A-list actor's dream in the 2000s, shows like "The Sopranos," "24," and "Deadwood" proved that the small screen could attract the attention of some notable names. Glenn Close joining Shawn Ryan's series came at a good time to save the series, but the performer wasn't thinking about that when she agreed to take part.

"I've always tried not to be snobbish about [television]," Close told TODAY. "To me, the bottom line is what's on the page. And the writing on this show is great storytelling."

Close wasn't the only movie star to grace "The Shield," courtesy of that writing. Forest Whitaker joined the cast in 2006, the same year he starred in "The Last King of Scotland," a film that netted him an Oscar. However, the "Shield" audience largely hated Whitaker's character because he became a problem for Vic Mackey and his gang. Close's character, meanwhile, was well-received by fans and critics alike. Her performance led to an Emmy nomination.