FBI series premiere review: Does CBS have a hit with Dick Wolf series?

FBI series premiere

Tonight on CBS, we saw the hotly-anticipated premiere of FBI — a show that appealed to all fans of series crime procedurals.

Let’s start tonight by introducing you to the two main characters: Maggie Bell (Missy Peregrym, Rookie Blue) and also Omar Adom “OA” Zidan (Zeeko Zaki). These two were tasked with going out of the street and doing everything that they could in order to stop large-scale crises while working out of the New York field office. The case started with an explosion via a dangerous apartment building, and the two of them had to figure out not only the source of the attack, but also if there could potentially be another one out there.

This show was gritty, dark, intense, and fairly by-the-book. It felt probably closer to Chicago PD than almost any other crime series out there, which makes sense given that both of them do hail from Dick Wolf, who has been wanting to do a show about the FBI for a rather long time. They’ve done a lot of research within the walls of that particular field office in New York and it shows. While we imagine that there will be some higher stakes on this show at times than what agents go through every single day, but otherwise, it could be very much accurate.

We also do like that in the premiere, Maggie and OA don’t have everything figured out just yet. OA is still learning about her, including a tragedy that befell her husband, and they have to figure out the best way to handle everything from field work to tackling issues back at the office.

FBI is clearly meant to also be a timely series, one that touches on everything from white nationalism to domestic terrorism to other hot-button issues. It’s not trying to play politics, but it is trying to reflect the current mood of the country — which is certainly rather tense and filled with hate and division. This premiere was a reflection of that virtually from start to finish.

CarterMatt Verdict

Tonight, FBI got off to what we consider to be a strong start. Did it reinvent the crime drama? No, and there could be some who just feel like this is a refined version of shows we’ve seen before. Yet, if the ratings end up being there we can easily see this being a series that lasts ten seasons, one where you get to know the characters and treat them like TV icons. That’s a part of the Dick Wolf magic, and that is keeping these shows on the air as long as possible.

Related See more of what lies ahead on the next new FBI episode

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