Say Hello To ‘Quantico’

A series about cops chasing robbers is nothing new. We have been fed on ‘CSI’, ‘NCIS’, ‘Criminal Minds’ and ‘Dexter’ for ages, which led us to dedicating easily hundreds of hours of our lives trying to figure out solutions to every crime possible.

And this in turn not only opened our eyes to crimes around the world, but kept us entertained as well.

Now there’s another show added to the never-ending list of series vying to get our attention. Introducing ‘Quantico’, the new series featuring a group of young FBI recruits training at the Quantico FBI Academy – and you know how it gets when people are mashed together in life-and-death situations: tensions rise, romances begin and competition is fierce until someone gets accused of being a sleeper agent, and that is Alex Parrish.

With decades of shows being dedicated to men playing the lead, ‘Quantico’ throws actress Priyanka Chopra to the front lines as the gorgeous Alex who doesn’t like to conform to the norm as her counterparts do. However, with flashbacks detailing her days at Quantico, the moment you are convinced that she is innocent, another clue pops up and makes you doubt your own reasoning.

Thanks to the brilliance Alex showed during her days at Quantico, her mentor Miranda Shaw takes the young agent’s side. It’s like being a student in class, and for some odd reason, you choose to follow everyone else just to fit in, until you realise that the lonely student who always gets the top marks thinks out of the box and eventually becomes the teacher’s pet. Let’s just say Alex is the teacher’s pet.

Digging a little into her past, we discover that Alex shot her father during a serious altercation with her mother – which more or less explains her withdrawn self. Revealing this to an agent, who is actually a spy meant to keep an eye on her, it turns into an hour-long festival of who’s, what’s, where, when’s and why’s. So what is the pretty and petite agent’s secret and why is she in the middle of a set-up? #QuestionsThatNeedAnswers.

Notable actors and actresses in the series include Josh Hopkins (remember Grayson Ellis from ‘Cougar Town’?), the oh-so-incredible Aunjanue Ellis (known for her critically-acclaimed role as Aminata Diallo in ‘The Book of Negroes’) and ‘Paranormal Activity 3’’s Johanna Braddy. With this surefire, multicultural cast, police work just got a lot more interesting.

According to the stats, ‘Quantico’ was the highest-rated show during its premiere, but mainly because of viewers who have watched via digital video recorders (DVRs) or on demand. A week ago, the show’s fate was unknown, but channel giant ABC came to the rescue by ordering an extra 19 episodes.

It’s an unpredictable world in television these days. Low ratings means jobs are cut and this has led to many-a-show having to bid their viewers goodbye. This includes Halle Berry’s ‘Extant’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘America’s Next Top Model’, among others. Good looks clearly aren’t everything.

And ‘Quantico’ has got competition. ‘Blindspot’ with Jaimie Alexander has been the highest-rated series of all and was the ‘first rookie’ to be snatched up for a full season. Despite its numbers slowly fading since its official premiere, the show definitely has some tricks up its sleeves. Other shows to look out for are ‘Heroes Reborn’, a continuation of the four-season ‘Heroes’, ‘Scream Queens’ and ‘Minority Report’.

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