I noticed about this series in one of the cable TV some time ago and I did not think too much of it. That is until I was starting to run out of series to catch up especially since the latest seasons have not been completely shown due to covid-19 outbreak. So I gave this one a try since mid of last week. It took me longer than I anticipated as it was having 22 episodes in the first season. OK I will start with the show now.
Brief Synopsis
The series focused on the office of FBI in New York where they work to handle and solve various Federal cases. The elite team consisted of two field Agents Maggie Bell (Missy Peregrym - Rookie Blue TV series etc) and her partner OA Zidan (Zeeko Zaki) who were usually the first ones at the crime scene.
At the FBI back office, there were a whole bunch of analysts who supported them in solving the cases with one particularly intelligent and bright analyst named Kristen Chazal (Ebonée Noel). They all were supervised by Assistant Special Agent in-charge Jubal Valentine (Jeremy Sisto - Wrong Turn, Suburgatory TV series etc) and their Special Agent in-charge Dana Mosier (Sela Ward - The Fugitive, The Day After Tomorrow etc).
End of Brief Synopsis
It's been a while since I started watching a new long series like this so it took a bit of adjustment for me to be accustomed to it again. I said in my other previous posts that I prefer watching shorter per season series with 8-16 episodes and had continuity to keep me interested. Now the pilot episode to this series was actually pretty awesome. Its case was about bombing which I felt was really spectacular as a series opener. But funnily though, I felt a familiarity with the early part of pilot episode of Quantico where it also started with a huge bomb exploded in New York city and involved the FBI. However, the rest were complete different.
This series has a different case in every episode and no connections at all between one and another. However, there was not too much character development in the first few episodes as they centered mostly on how the cases would be solved. Slowly though the characters story and background were given larger portion, giving us a greater feeling of attachment towards them. The chemistry between Agent Bell and Agent Zidan was also getting better after few episodes, making me more connected with them.
Aside from those two, we also get to see quite large screen time for Jubal (played very nicely by Jeremy Sisto who was actually my favorite character in here). Meanwhile the analyst Kristen was also pretty amazing with her brilliance and intelligence. One thing that was rather odd was the Agent in charge Dana who only started to appear in the second episode, as the series producer opted to change from originally Connie Nielsen as Agent Sophie. Not sure of the reasons but I thought it was good decision cause I loved Sela Ward's characterization in here.
The main attraction of this series was actually the way the mystery was solved and the complexities of almost all cases. They were mostly time sensitive, dangerous and pretty spectacular as well. There was also a surprising 18th episode which served as back door to a spin-off series (FBI: Most Wanted) which seemed interesting enough. Of the whole season, my most favorite episodes were 2nd, 4th, 13th, 15th and the season finale. Oh, the 13th was probably the best for me with its totally surprising twist.
I am quite a fan of police procedural drama series which has a major story arc that would intrigue me. Now this series, despite not having one (or even if there was, it was not the center of the series) managed to keep me continue watching as their major cases were a bit different and more spectacular than the usual police procedural series. I remembered watching another hit series Criminal Minds with the focus of Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) in FBI to solve the cases which I loved a lot, but after around 7 or 8 seasons, I grew tired as it did not seem to have any endings. So I cannot say that I will be able to continue watching this if it continued for that long. I also felt this series has a very serious tone with very limited humor (aside from very few light moments one or two episodes) which make this one felt a bit heavy.
Overall, this is an interesting series and frankly better than I expected. It is another great work from Dick Wolf (the creator & producer of hit series such as Law & Order franchise and Chicago franchise). I understand the critics quite enjoyed it as well though it did not have a really high critical rating but still better than other series in this genre. For those who love this type of series, it is a good option to watch at least the first season (the second is still ongoing and probably will end in the next few weeks). However, if you are more interested in series with major story arc, then this might not really satisfy you. The choice is yours.
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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