Class of '09 Mini-series Review

Class of '09 (2023)
Mini-series - 8 episodes

Watch Class of '09 on Hulu
Creatted by: Tom Rob Smith
Starring: Brian Tyree Henry, Kata Mara, Brian J. Smith, Isaiah Stratton
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer

Plot
FBI agents who graduated from Quantico in 2009 are reunited following the death of a mutual friend.

Verdict
Multiple timelines keep this busy and interesting. We see a few specific agents in the past during training, in the present as they're about to use AI to narrow suspect lists, and a future where AI governs crime enforcement. The question is how the past and future timeline intertwine. A strong conclusion could give this a boost, but this ends predictably. I was hoping this would delve deeper and leave the audience something to consider and ponder.
It depends.

Review
The first episode and the entire season transitions from the present in 2023, the past where the agents are starting as optimistic FBI trainees, and the future where it seems crime can be predicted as we see how their careers and technology have progressed. Each of the timelines build the characters and tie in as we wonder how they progressed. There certainly seems to be some kind of conspiracy which is what drives most of this season.

Tayo Michaels (Brian Tyree Henry) has created the safest country in the future as the director of the FBI. Questions arise about how he did that and in the first episode it's implied he may have bent the rules. As a trainee he quickly questions rules and regulations which is why we question his actions. The story structure is kind of fun. We see how people get to this point. Seeing Tayo early you like him, in the future he seems underhanded while, in the present he's an agent that's scared, and fear makes people dangerous.

Sepideh Moafi, Kate Mara play Hour Nazari, Ashley Poet

Ashley Poet (Kate Mara) is the all star who has the right answers and isn't afraid to dive in head first. She's at the core of the conspiracy trying to figure out what Tayo is hiding.

This does a good job of creating these self contained stories in the timelines and also connecting them overall by focusing on a few characters. We see how relationships have evolved, but the show doesn't fill in all the gaps, leaving us something to guess at. 

AI assistance is introduced early and dismissed. During the season we get why AI is an attractive option when terrorists are on the attack to reduce response times. While there is resistance to a digital investigator, desperate times call for desperate measures.

The show is entertaining and it does a great job of linking the stories across the timelines. The kicker for this show is how it ends. Will the show affirm AI as an investigative tool or will it decry the lack of privacy? I wanted the finale to be more. It's a safe, almost predictable ending. We see the problems with a system like this, but we don't get a fresh take or an idea with an impact.