Quantico

Starring: Priyanka Chopra (57 episodes), Jake McLaughlin (57 episodes), Johanna Braddy (57 episodes), Aunjanue Ellis (44 episodes), Yasmine Al Massri (44 episodes), Blair Underwood (35 episodes), Russell Tovey (31 episodes), Graham Rogers (24 episodes), Josh Hopkins (22 episodes), Tate Ellington (22 episodes), Pearl Thusi (17 episodes), Jay Armstrong Johnson (17 episodes), David Lim (15 episodes), Marcia Cross (15 episodes), Aaon Diaz (14 episodes), Jacob Artist (14 episodes), Victor Cornfoot (14 episodes), Marlee Matlin (13 episodes), Alan Powell (12 episodes), Li Jun Li (12 episodes), Jason Tottenham (12 episodes), Anabelle Acosta (11 episodes), Tracy Ifeachor (11 episodes), Mark Pellegrino (11 episodes), Jeremy Lacombe (11 episodes), Rick Cosnett (10 episodes), Lenny Platt (10 episodes), Hunter Parrish (9 episodes), Renan Kanbay (8 episodes), Vandit Bhatt (8 episodes), Henry Czerny (7 episodes), Dennis Boutsikaris (6 episodes), J. Mallory McCree (6 episodes), Candi Boyd (6 episodes), Timothy V. Murphy (5 episodes), Amber Skye Noyes (5 episodes), Eliza Coupe (5 episodes), Karolina Wydra (5 episodes), Jon Kortajarena (5 episodes), Anna Khaja (5 episodes), Helene Yorke (4 episodes), Paige Patterson (4 episodes), Marjan Neshat (4 episodes), Yair Ben-Dor (4 episodes), Janaya Stephens (4 episodes), Elisabeth Waterston (4 episodes), Laura Campbell (3 episodes), Krysta Rodriguez (3 episodes), Will Chase (2 episodes), Kelly Rutherford (2 episodes), C.J. Wilson (2 episodes), Johnathon Schaech (2 episodes), Oded Fehr (1 episode), David Zayas (1 episode), Anne Heche (1 episode)
Directed by: David McWhirter (5 episodes), Jennifer Lynch (5 episodes), Patrick R. Norris (5 episodes), Steve Robin (4 episodes), Russell Lee Fine (4 episodes), Constantine Makris (3 episodes), Stephen Kay (2 episodes), P.J. Pesce (2 episodes), Kenneth Fink (2 episodes), Jim McKay (2 episodes), Ron Underwood (1 episode), Rob Bowman (1 episode)
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Drama, Mystery
2015-2018

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1 - 2 - 3

Summary: Alex Parrish (Priyanka Chopra) and her fellow FBI recruits navigate training at Quantico as they prepare to stop real-world threats.

Review:
Tim: I'm not sure I would go so far as to say that I like Quantico. It was okay. There are some aspects of the show I enjoyed, but there were many flaws present as well. It was one of those shows that never fully lived up to its promise. Over the three years the show existed, I was entertained, but I was also bored. By the time the show was canceled after Season Three, I was very ready to be done with it.

The premise was a strong one and the show started out fairly good. We followed a group of young FBI trainees as they learned their craft at Quantico. The series wasn't a straight espionage/action one, as it was also a steamy romantic drama as well. It reminded of me "Grey's Anatomy"- a show about doctors, yes, but it was really the personal lives of the characters that drove the show forward. Early on, I was intrigued. It was fun to get to know these characters and see them train at Quantico. The different relationship drama was legitimately entertaining. I also enjoyed that the entire season told one long story. It allowed us to get to know these characters at a much deeper level. And to be honest, the characters were pretty solid.

Priyanka Chopra was the star of the show and Alex Parrish was a memorable character. I enjoyed Chopra in the role. She was strong, confident, yet flawed (all of the characters were given a big flaw, which made them interesting). Jake MacLaughlin worked well with Chopra and I enjoyed the character of Ryan Booth. Ryan and Alex were the two characters the show really revolved around. MacLaughlin certainly didn't seem to be a very good actor, but he put a lot into the role. Johanna Braddy never felt believable as Shelby Wyatt. She's a stick of a person and I just never believed her as an actual FBI Agent. The first season had a number of solid supporting characters in a fairly large cast.

I will admit that the first season lost momentum as it went on, so while I experienced some excitement early on, I grew tired of the show even as it came to its big first season conclusion. The second season was interesting because it switched out the FBI for the CIA. It was actually a cool shift, but the explanation for how multiple characters still worked together was a major plot hole. It just was so ridiculous. The idea of Alex joining the CIA was cool and I loved the different training she received as a future CIA agent- it was a nice way to continue the premise of the show while expanding the story. The second season also introduced Blair Underwood (who I really like) as Owen Hall. He was a great addition to the show, even as the show around him continued to lose momentum. The series had a huge cast, but I do want to highlight a few people. Russell Tovey was outstanding as Harry Doyle. He became one of my favorite characters and Tovey's performance was a big reason for this. Graham Rogers had some good moments, although his character was mishandled towards the end. Yasmine Al Massri was fantastic in the first season and solid in the second. Josh Hopkins and Tate Ellington added worthwhile performances and created compelling characters. Marlee Matlin was a nice addition to season three, but Timothy V. Murphy stole the show, emerging as one of the great villains of the show and the most memorable aspect of the third season. There's dozens of other characters, but I won't get into them all.

"Quantico" could have been canceled after season two, but we got a shortened season three (with a new showrunner). Season three went to an episodic format, which was kind of fun because it was so different to what we were used to. Unfortunately, those episodes were some of the most dull ones of the whole series. Season three got better towards the end when it started telling a multi-episode story. I really believe the longer story worked better for this show.

"Quantico" was a show that took a great idea and delivered a solid half season, followed by a decent second half. It really seemed like a show without a long-term vision, though. That ultimately proved fatal. The show developed some great characters, but didn't do the best job of casting them. you had season one focused on the FBI, season two focused on the CIA, and season three some task force thing that never made a ton of sense to me. This is clearly a show that was grappling in the dark. The show could be compelling, but it was also frustrating and occasionally difficult to get through. I suppose I'm happy I watched it- I did have fun moments here and there. However, it's not a show I would recommend and it was a mercy to wrap it up after the third season.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



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