The ‘FBI’ franchise has experienced great success, thanks to its hard-hitting plot, excellent cast members, and action that is completely convincing, and ‘FBI: International’ keeps to the same characteristics as it gets off to a strong and solid start. The pilot is part of a three-hour crossover with ‘FBI’ and ‘FBI: Most Wanted.’ It will be on its own the next week, but it manages to give the sense that it is capable of holding its own.
Special Agent Scott Forrester (Luke Kleintank) and his squad, Jamie Kellett (Heida Reed), Cameron Vo (Vinessa Vidotto), and Andre Raines (Carter Redwood), are on a mission to uncover a renowned sex trafficker, Colin Kent, who has been eluding police while amassing a dead count. They are accompanied on the assignment by ‘FBI’ Special Agent OA (Zeeko Zaki), who has a feud with Kent. OA and Scott’s relationship isn’t always plain sailing, but they manage to find common ground.
The pilot puts viewers through their paces and has enough twists and turns before they ultimately catch Kent, but the show’s goal is to depict the nitty-gritty of how these agents perform their work and unravel leads to complete their assignment. ‘FBI: International’ has a terrific cast, and while the lines are a little clunky at times, they have the ability to reach their stride throughout the course of the season. Christiane Paul, the German actress who plays Katrin Jaeger, a bilingual Europol agent who works as a liaison for the squad on foreign operations, is the one to watch following her steely performance in the pilot.
‘FBI: International’ made headlines when it said that the series would focus on a primary character who would not go trigger-happy and would arrest criminals without using weapons, and they succeed in doing so in the first episode. While the nail-biting action sequences hint that they may break that rule, the heroes remain true to their credo, and the episode finishes with a W for the team.
The program will be looking for a similar level of popularity as its prior instalments. Meanwhile, it will fight with shows like ‘Chicago PD,’ ‘Bosch,’ and ‘True Detective’ for global acclaim, and with this type of start, it will certainly give the competition a run for its money. ‘FBI: International’ airs on CBS on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
