FX BREAKS THE ICE WITH FIRST EMMY.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

The shock of Emmy night 2002 was surely Michael Chiklis' stunning victory as best actor in a drama for his performance as a rogue cop in ``The Shield'' - the first Emmy ever for the basic cable network FX.

Television industry experts said Monday that the win should provide a major marketing boost not only for the show, but also for FX, which is gradually producing more original programming and will be available in about 80 million homes by the end of the year.

``Obviously, the publicity helps everybody,'' said Jack Loftus, senior vice president of communications for Nielsen Media Research. ``Anytime you get publicity, people are more inclined to sample a program. That's one of the highlights of any award: Promote that award and call people's attention to it and use it to drive more audience to your program.''

Chiklis upset such pre-Emmy favorites as Martin Sheen in ``The West Wing'' and Kiefer Sutherland in Fox's ``24,'' as well as ``Six Feet Under'' co-stars Michael C. Hall and Peter Krause.

``The Shield'' made its debut on March 12 and has drawn both praise and criticism for its gritty, violent content. It is FX's first original drama series and connected with an audience right out of the gate. Its first episode became the most-watched original series premiere in the history of basic cable.

``A still-growing basic cable network like ours is always fighting for visibility,'' said Kevin Reilly, FX's president of entertainment. ``We never had any lead-ins; nor were we hammocked between two hit shows. 'The Shield' really had to self-start at 10 p.m., and we were thrilled that we had the performances that we did. In many markets, we were beating the broadcast networks.''

FX, which has risen to the top 10 of basic cable networks, began a marathon of the first season of ``The Shield'' on Monday, airing episodes every night of the week at 11 p.m. through Oct. 5.

``I think there's a lot of people who have heard about the show before but couldn't find the network or didn't look for it,'' Reilly said. ``Hopefully, (the Emmy) will galvanize their resolve, and they will say, hey, I'm going to make an appointment to see this.''

Awards expert Tom O'Neil, author of ``The Emmys,'' predicts a spike in the ratings for the show. While the value of winning Emmys is generally hard to gauge for established hit shows like ``The West Wing'' and ``Friends,'' a statuette can be transforming for a little-known show.

``'Hill Street Blues,' 'Cagney and Lacey,' 'All in the Family,' 'Cheers' and 'Mission: Impossible' all came close to being canceled and were rescued by winning Emmy awards,'' O'Neil said. ``We've also seen the phenomenon more recently when `The Practice' won for best series and when (best supporting actress winner) Camryn Manheim thrust her Emmy in the air and said, 'Here's to all the fat girls!' No one knew who the fat girl was when the show was so lowly rated. The Emmys certainly played a part in thrusting that show into the top 10.''

O'Neill, who hosts the awards prediction Web site called goldderby.com, said Chiklis' first win should make viewers curious about the source of the buzz and could expand the program's audience beyond core fans, critics and industry professionals.

The first season of ``The Shield'' comprised just 13 episodes, currently being repeated on FX. The second season will launch in January with another 13 episodes.

FX is Fox Entertainment Group's flagship general entertainment basic cable network. It was launched in 1994 and fills its schedule with films - many from the 20th Century Fox library - and repeats of hit series such as ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer,'' ``M*A*S*H,'' ``Ally McBeal'' and ``Beverly Hills 90210.''

The network's reach has grown exponentially in recent years. Two years ago it was in 53 million homes and now is in 78 million.

The network's programming strategy for the next year will be to air feature films during the first two hours of prime time and then telecast an hour of original programming.

In addition to ``The Shield,'' the network will debut its second original series, ``Lucky,'' sometime this spring. It stars John Corbett of ``Sex in the City'' fame who is also the leading man in the surprise box office smash ``My Big Fat Greek Wedding.'' The 13 episodes of ``Lucky'' will began airing after ``The Shield'' completes its cycle of new episodes.

The network also has two other original shows in development but has canceled the original comedy ``Son of the Beach'' after three seasons.

Reilly said any increased visibility enjoyed by ``The Shield'' will not lead to toning down the show's bold and controversial content. The backlash endured earlier this year made the Emmy win all the sweeter, Chiklis said Sunday night.

``It vindicates us tremendously,'' he said. ``It speaks to a lot of major issues that are going on in law enforcement today. We're just dealing with it in a very honest, brutal manner.''

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Photo:

(color) Michael Chiklis of ``The Shield'' holds the Emmy he won Sunday as top lead actor in a TV drama series.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press