When Shawn Ryan ’88 created his highly-acclaimed police drama The Shield for the FX network, he became one of the hottest producers in the business. Midway through the first season of his newest cop show, The Chicago Code (Fox network), Ryan returned to Middlebury this week to screen an upcoming episode and speak with students about his experience in the field. Middlebury Magazine editor Matt Jennings was able to nab a few minutes with Ryan to talk about his new show–and his first gut-wrenching experience as a Middlebury student playwright.