From Mob Bombs to the Great Fire: Carolyn Kras Unveils Chicago Procedural ‘The Second City’

13 Jul 2026

Fresh off her selection as one of the ISA’s “Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch,” acclaimed writer Carolyn Kras has unveiled her latest pilot script, THE SECOND CITY—a fierce, prestige historical crime series that took the Content London pitch competition by storm as a Top 5 finalist. Blending raw Midwest grit with a high-stakes narrative, the project is now actively seeking a powerhouse producer to bring its volatile underworld to television.

Set in the immediate, ash-choked aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, THE SECOND CITY follows Matt Gronski, a convict who escapes a burning prison and assumes a dead man’s identity to join the police force. While Gronski solves intricate weekly procedural puzzles, he is secretly hunting down the corrupt officers who murdered his wife—a quest for vengeance that threatens to collapse his fragile new life.

For Kras, the inspiration for the gritty series strikes close to home. Growing up in Cicero and Berwyn, Illinois, her early life was framed by the shadows of Chicago’s legendary underworld.

”I remember waking up in the wee hours of the morning when the blast of a Mafia pipe bomb exploded at a local restaurant,” Kras shares. “These experiences catalyzed my fascination with Chicago’s gritty crime stories.”

That obsession led to deep historical excavation. Supported by a Hearst Fellowship, Kras spent months diving into original 1870s newspapers, diaries, and letters to exhume wild, forgotten chapters of American history.

”I was excited to exhume wild true stories that I hadn’t heard of before,” says Kras, “such as when General Sheridan marched into Chicago and declared martial law, to Chicago’s War of the Mayors, when two different men each claimed mayoral victory and went to literal war with each other.”

As the project gains significant industry traction, Kras credits much of her recent momentum to her network support. “The ISA is a fantastic supporter of writers,” she notes. “They boosted my career when they chose me as a ‘Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch.’ They cheer you on, foster community, and constantly seek opportunities for their writers. I appreciate the myriad of events they program, from Zooms about industry topics to networking mixers.”

While rooted in the past, Kras notes that the series serves as a mirror to modern anxieties, exploring giant wealth gaps, scapegoated immigrant communities, and rapidly shifting social systems. “The show dramatizes the fight that’s necessary to survive turmoil while also providing hope that we are resilient creatures who will rise from the ashes,” she adds.

An MFA graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and a former screenwriting professor at DePaul University, Kras has fully prepared the pilot script, pitch, series bible, and lookbook. Production companies and independent producers interested in anchoring a prestige historical drama can contact the writer via her website at carolynkras.com.

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