Quantico is an American thriller television series created by Joshua Safran , that premiered on ABC on Sunday, September 27 , 2015 , starring Alex Parrish (played by Priyanka Chopra ), who is suspected of committing a terrorist attack. Through flashbacks (scenes that alter the chronological sequence of the narrative) she tells her story and the stories of her fellow FBI Academy recruits in Quantico . ABC ordered a full season on October 13, 2015, with 19 episodes, but added an additional 3 episodes to the order to bring it to 22 episodes making it a full season.
Synopsis
The series follows a group of young FBI recruits; each has a specific reason for joining. Flashbacks detail their earlier lives as the recruits fight their way through training at the academy in Quantico, Virginia . However, the series reveals in a twist forward that one of the recruits, upon graduating from the academy, is suspected of masterminding the largest terrorist attack on New York City since the September 11, 2001 attacks .
Cast and characters
Main
- Priyanka Chopra as Alex Parrish, an FBI agent who becomes the prime suspect in the terrorist attack, she goes undercover to track down those responsible and clear her name.
- Josh Hopkins as Liam O’Connor, an experienced FBI agent who was having an affair with Miranda Shaw, demoted to work at the Academy.
- Jake McLaughlin as Ryan Booth, an undercover FBI agent tasked with investigating Alex, but he fell in love with her instead of psychologically exploiting her what he does is help her.
- Aunjanue Ellis as Miranda Shaw, head of the training program at Quantico and Alex’s mentor. She refuses to believe that Alex is guilty.
- Yasmine Al Massri as Nimah and Raina Amin, twins brought onto the show by Miranda, who masquerades as one person under the name Nimah.
- Johanna Braddy as Shelby Wyatt, Alex’s best friend and an excellent marksman. She is quite wealthy and her family owns a couple of businesses. Shelby’s parents were killed on 9/11, which led her to join the FBI to try and stop future terrorist attacks.
- Tate Ellington as Simon Asher. He is Jewish and has a fascination with Nimah, who discovers that he spent part of his life in Gaza. Simon was officially banned from Quantico, but is secretly an undercover agent.
- Graham Rogers as Caleb Haas, who originally failed out of the Academy as an agent, but went back to train as an analyst, and then reinstated as a new agent trainee. Prior to the attack on Grand Central Terminal, Caleb was stationed as an analyst in San Diego, but requested a transfer to New York.
- Anabelle Acosta as Natalie Vasquez, Alex’s rival in the Academy rankings and for Ryan’s heart as well. In the events following the attack, she is shown to have become an FBI agent and is one of the agents hunting Alex.
Secondary
- Anna Khaja as Sita Parrish, Alex’s mother
- Johnathon Schaech as Michael Parrish, Alex’s father
- Rick Cosnett as Elijah Harper, an openly gay analyst trainee who appears interested in Simon both personally and professionally.
- Mark Pellegrino as FBI Assistant Director Clayton Haas, Caleb’s father.
- Mallory McCree as Charlie, Miranda’s son
- Jacob Artist as Brandon Fletcher, a trainee agent
- Marcia Cross as Senator Claire Haas, a Democratic vice-presidential candidate and Caleb’s mother
Production
Development
On September 17, 2014, ABC announced the network had purchased the original concept for the drama series written by Joshua Safran and produced by Mark Gordon , known for such shows as Grey’s Anatomy , Ray Donovan , and Criminal Minds . ABC ordered the pilot on January 23 , 2015, for the upcoming season. The pilot episode was filmed in Atlanta and directed by Marc Munden . On May 7, 2015, ABC picked up the pilot to series with a 13-episode order, but on October 13, 2015, due to the reception, increased the order to 19 episodes, adding six more to the contract, and a month later ordered three more episodes for a full 22-episode season.
Auditions
Casting announcements began in February 2015. Tate Ellington was the first actor cast, as an FBI trainee. On February 25 , Indian actress Priyanka Chopra landed the role of FBI trainee Alex Parrish, the series’ young female lead. On March 3 , it was announced that Jake McLaughlin would play the love interest in Alex Parrish, while Johanna Braddy and Yasmine Al Massri were cast as co-leads to round out the cast.
After picking up the pilot, ABC began making changes to the cast. It was announced that Dougray Scott, who played FBI Special Agent Liam O’Connor, had left the show and the role was handed to Josh Hopkins who replaced him on July 17, 2015. On September 4, 2015, it was announced that Acosta had been promoted to series regular. On September 11, 2015, Jacob Artist was cast in the recurring role of a kind and confident FBI agent in training, who is a former quarterback from a wealthy and prominent family. It was announced on November 6, 2015, that Marcia Cross was cast as Claire Haas, Caleb’s mother and wife of Director Clayton Haas, she will play a senator, and now vice presidential candidate and with this addition the cast for the first season was finalized.
Filming
While the pilot episode was filmed in Atlanta, the series began filming the first season in Montreal , Quebec , and Sherbrooke , in late summer 2015. Production on the first 13 episodes began on July 20 , 2015.
Reception
Criticism
Quantico has received positive reviews from television critics. Review website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 83%, with an average rating of 6.6/10 based on 54 reviews. The site’s consensus reads, “Quantico delivers ridiculously entertaining thrills from a balanced cast.” On Metacritic , the series has a score of 70 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, indicating “generally favorable reviews.”
Public
The reception by the public has been very favorable, it started with a 1.9 in adults, making it the fourth most-watched premiere of the season, and becoming the series with the highest increase in audience on DVR, reaching figures of 125%.
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