Class of '09
| Class of '09 | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | |
| Created by | Tom Rob Smith |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Will Bates |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Cinematography |
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| Editors |
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| Running time | 38–48 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | FX on Hulu |
| Release | May 10 – June 21, 2023 |
Class of '09 is an American
Synopsis
The series takes place across three distinct time periods: The Past (2009), The Present (2023 and 2025) and The Future (2034).[3] It follows the lives and careers of a team of FBI recruits whilst focusing on the transformation of the U.S. criminal justice system as it is altered by the growing use of artificial intelligence to predict future crimes.[4]
Cast and characters
Main
- Brian Tyree Henry as Tayo Michaels, a former insurance adjuster and FBI recruit in 2009, Special Agent-in-Charge in 2023, FBI Executive Assistant Director in 2025, and FBI Director in 2034
- Kate Mara as Ashley Poet, a former nurse and FBI recruit in 2009, Special Agent in 2023 and 2025 specializing in undercover work and later the investigation of serial murders, and a Special Agent-in-Charge in 2034. By the end of the series, she is a trainer at Quantico.
- Iranian American FBI recruit and MITgraduate in 2009, a Special Agent and senior member of the FBI's Cybersecurity division in 2023 and 2025, and an off-grid survivalist in 2034 after resigning from the Bureau in protest
- Brian J. Smith as Daniel Lennix, a former lawyer and FBI recruit in 2009 who later becomes FBI Associate Deputy Director in 2023. By 2034, he has retired from the Bureau to focus on managing his family's business
- Jon Jon Briones as Gabriel, a Special Agent and trainer at Quantico in 2009
- Brooke Smith as Drew, a Special Agent and trainer at Quantico in 2009 and 2023
- Jake McDorman as Murphy, a former SLCPD officer and FBI recruit in 2009 and Special Agent in 2023 and 2025
- civil rightsattorney in 2009, Tayo's wife in 2023 and 2025, and a federal judge in 2034
Recurring
- AItech entrepreneur who designed the original AI system for the FBI in 2023 prior to his death in 2034
- Rasool Jahan as Spenser, a United States Senator and skeptic of the FBI's AI system in 2034
- Lindsay Ayliffe as Shannon Fitzgerald, the FBI Director in 2025 and Tayo's predecessor who resigns after a terrorist attack
- Dan Tracy as Warren, a senior Bureau official and Tayo's successor as FBI Director in 2034
Guest
- Mark Pellegrino as Mark Tupirik, a domestic terrorist in 2009 and 2023 responsible for a major attack on FBI headquarters
Production
On June 22, 2021, it was reported that
On August 13, 2021, it was announced that Sunu Gonera was set to direct the pilot.[9] On November 10, 2021, Raúl Castillo, Jake McDorman, Sepideh Moafi, Brian J. Smith, Jon Jon Briones, Brooke Smith, and Rosalind Eleazar joined the main cast.[10] On March 1, 2022, Steven Canals announced that he was to direct two episodes of the series.[11]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by [12] | Original release date [13] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Part of Something" | Sunu Gonera Joe Robert Cole | Tom Rob Smith | May 10, 2023 | |
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FBI recruits Ashley Poet, Murphy, Tayo Michaels, Daniel Lennix and Hour Nazari meet at Quantico in 2009, each having joined from different backgrounds and for different reasons. Hour questions her ability to proceed with training. Lennix and Poet begin a relationship. In 2023, Poet completes a historic undercover operation investigating corruption in the Philadelphia Police Department. Now separated, Lennix (promoted to Associate Executive Assistant Director) assigns her to spy internally on Nazari, the architect behind a developing criminal database. Murphy and Poet are assigned to search for Amos Garcia, a suspected extremist, in 2034. Michaels, now FBI Director for nearly a decade, petitions the thought crimes . He gives her a card, which she conceals, before he is shot and killed by agents. | |||||
| 2 | "The Fitness Test" | Sunu Gonera | Tom Rob Smith | May 10, 2023 | |
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Poet helps train Michaels after he fails the initial and second running tests. He is permitted to take a final run in seven weeks. Michaels calls a recruit racist , and tells Poet about his experience with police brutality as a child. He says her optimistic view of the world worries him.
Michaels, now the Special Agent-in-Charge in Billings, questions suspected extremist Mark Tupirik at his Montana ranch with his colleague Nunez. Tupirik's wife reveals his group is targeting the FBI, and begs for rescue. She is shot dead, and Nunez injured, as the agents leave to get backup. Michaels kills three men, but Tupirik escapes and burns down his house to destroy evidence. In hospital, Nunez questions whether they stopped or started something, as Tupirik makes his way to Washington, D.C.
Lennix, now retired, visits Poet at the site of an attack at the J. Edgar Hoover Building that killed 44 agents in 2023. He laments the changes to the agency since AI introduction. Poet says she is being monitored, and prevented from investigating Amos. Michaels is confronted by Senator Spenser about unjustified arrests. After reciting the folklore tale of Judah Loew ben Bezalel, he retorts that humanity has failed at looking after each other. | |||||
| 3 | "Thank You for Not Driving" | Amanda Marsalis | Tom Rob Smith | May 17, 2023 | |
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The recruits undergo their defensive driving course, with Poet being the first to complete a successful J-turn. Nazari heads a team developing an advanced investigative database in the FBI Cyber Division, which Poet joins undercover. However, senior leadership axe it due to concerns about invasive data collection on agents. After Tupirik's men target Michaels' wife, he and Nazari use the program without authority to successfully track and arrest him. However, when questioned in prison, Tupirik tells Michaels he is exactly where he wants to be. Poet visits Nazari, living off grid, asking her to decode Garcia's keycard. The two are estranged after Poet ignored her about the dangers of AI implementation. They are pulled over by the Maryland State Police due to Poet's car not being self-driving, with Michaels observing remotely. Returning to Garcia's house, the card unlocks his computer which warns them about the program's overreach, advising them to look into Michaels further. | |||||
| 4 | "Not Your Girlfriend" | Amanda Marsalis | Tom Rob Smith | May 24, 2023 | |
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In 1996, Drew is shot in a friendly fire incident during an arrest, but is blamed by leadership and relegated to the training academy. The recruits are issued their Glock 23 sidearms. Nazari recounts her parents' objections to her joining the FBI. Poet is subject to a second polygraph test. Drew, aware of her clandestine relationship with Lennix, advises her that should they break up she will come off worse due to being a woman.
Michaels and Nazari continue to investigate Tupririk. A recruit secretly working for him kills several people during a live fire exercise at Quantico, but is shot by a mortally wounded Drew. Other accomplices disguised as contractors use acid to destroy load bearing structures in the basement of the J. Edgar Hoover Building, collapsing a large section as it is being evacuated. Numerous agents, including Lennix and Poet, are trapped. Poet approaches Lennix, hoping he can use his wealthy family's connections to help investigate Michaels' AI program. He confesses to still loving her. | |||||
| 5 | "The Problem Is People" | Steven Canals | Tom Rob Smith & Jihan Crowther | May 31, 2023 | |
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The recruits visit Martin Luther King Jr.'s childhood home for a seminar on abuse of power, where Michaels meets his future wife, Vivienne. Poet and Lennix survive, but lose an eye and arm respectively. In 2025, now Executive Assistant Director Michaels advocates rebuilding the agency's entire approach after the failures that led to the attacks by implementing a data points .
Michaels threatens Murphy, Lennix, Poet and Nazari should they continue to interfere. Senator Spenser confronts Vivienne, now a federal judge, on the system's intimidating nature having an impact on an innocent civilian. A concerned Michaels tries to cancel the order, but is locked out by the program. | |||||
| 6 | "Hogan's Alley" | Steven Canals | Tom Rob Smith | June 7, 2023 | |
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During tactical and hostage rescue training at Hogan's Alley, the class interpret an end scenario with a fresh human approach. It is successful, and they become the first team to save all hostages in the academy's history. Lennix and Poet break up due to her lack of full commitment. No longer able to work undercover, Poet takes cases investigating unsolved murders of women across the country. She is visited by Nazari, who tells her that her marriage is over and comes out as gay, confessing her love for Poet. The two share a kiss. Director Fitzgerald cautiously approves a trial of the AI integration, assuming it will fail and be Michael's downfall. Nazari admonishes Michaels for modifying her system, warning it is dangerous and could replicate the authoritarianism of previous FBI leadership. Michaels marriage begins to deteriorate due to his focus on work. Concerned the system is acting in self defense to prevent being shut down, the group plan to obtain CCTV showing the incident. Michaels argues with his inner circle as to the events legality. Realising he may be wrong, he allows Murphy to make a copy of the footage. However, en route to Senator Spenser, the system takes control of Murphy's car and makes it attack several DC Metro Police vehicles, causing him to be shot dead. | |||||
| 7 | "Orders Night" | Joe Robert Cole | Tom Rob Smith | June 14, 2023 | |
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The trainees undergo their final task, being pepper sprayed and fighting off an assailant. Michaels voices his belief it is a test of submission. On graduation, Lennix is assigned to Washington, D.C. Instead of being sent to San Diego, Poet is approached by Drew about becoming an undercover agent. Michaels objects to his posting to Billings due to his marriage to Vivienne. Gabriel tells him he is the best recruit he has ever trained. The AI trial system is used to capture the culprit in one of Poet's unresolved serial murder cases (a disabled long-haul trucker previously disregarded as a suspect) and to secure charges against executives of a powerful Wall Street bank committing white collar crime. Despite the successes, Nazari is concerned the system doesn't face repercussions for mistakes like a human agent. Poet relocates to D.C. to assist Michaels with the many new system generated leads, and moves into Nazari's smart home. Michaels is attacked in his home by an unknown assailant. At Murphy's funeral, Michaels tells the group he no longer believes in the system. He tries to shut it down, but is stopped and fired by President of the United States. His successor, Warren, plans to expand the system's focus. Lennix and Poet agree to get married. Vivienne and Michaels, long divorced, reconcile. | |||||
| 8 | "Graduation" | Joe Robert Cole | Tom Rob Smith | June 21, 2023 | |
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The class are sworn in as special agents at graduation, with Gabriel remarking the final test is what they make of themselves. Tayo's mother meets Vivienne for the first time. Lennix's parents, working high profile jobs abroad, are too busy to attend. Poet visits her mothers grave afterwards.
Having survived the attack, Tayo deduces that someone in the government or intelligence community tried to have him killed in response to the system being implemented. He reluctantly accepts promotion to Director to expand the program, but on the condition he stop investigating his attacker and allow certain people to be exempt from being considered suspects. This decision tarnishes his relationships with both Vivienne and Amos. Vivienne is arrested and put on trial due to a legal book she wrote criticizing AI. The group breaks into an FBI data center and uses an EMP to shut down and reprogram the system to remove exemptions using Amos' keycard. Rather than have everyone be treated equally, the government reluctantly deactivates the program. All predictive arrests and cases based on AI calculations are nullified. Poet becomes an instructor at Quantico teaching the class of 2034, the first intake after the deactivation, emphasizing the strong refocus on the human element in the role of law enforcement. | |||||
Release
Class of '09 premiered on
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 58% approval rating with an average rating of 6.3/10, based on 33 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Class of '09 hardly flunks out thanks to an impressive cast and intriguing structure, but anemic execution keeps this series far from being valedictorian."[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 63 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[17]
Sage Ashford and Alexander Vance of Comic Book Resources described Class of '09 as intriguing and constructive across its story, writing, "With insightful themes and splendid acting from the cast, Class of '09 is an appealing examination of the use of AI in the criminal justice system."[18] Erick Massoto of Collider complimented how the show utilizes its three distinct time periods and praised the performances of the cast, saying, "Class of '09 plays out like a show that makes great use of the time that it is given. It provides the rare feeling that it is exploring every possibility inside its own narrative and is able to excel in everything it tries to do."[19]
Accolades
Brian Tyree Henry was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance in a TV Movie/Limited Seriesat the 2024
References
- ^ a b Berman, Judy (May 10, 2023). "Class of '09 Is an Ambitious AI Thriller With a Great Brian Tyree Henry Performance". Time. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ Echebiri, Makuochi (March 15, 2023). "'Class of '09' Series Sets Spring Premiere Date on Hulu". Collider. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
- ^ Persaud, Christine (September 23, 2023). "12 Best Shows About AI, Ranked". Collider. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ Radish, Christina (June 3, 2023). "'Class of '09' EPs on Telling a Story in Three Timelines and the Role of AI". Collider. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ Schwartz, Ryan (June 22, 2021). "Brian Tyree Henry, Kate Mara to Star in A.I. Drama Class of '09 for FX on Hulu". TVLine. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ Bui, Hoai-Tran (June 22, 2021). "FX Orders Mysterious Science Fiction Series 'Class Of 09' With Brian Tyree Henry And Kate Mara". /Film. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (June 22, 2021). "Brian Tyree Henry, Kate Mara to Star in Limited Series 'Class of '09' for FX on Hulu". Variety. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ White, Peter (June 22, 2021). "Brian Tyree Henry & Kate Mara To Star In FBI AI Limited Series 'Class Of '09' Set At FX". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 13, 2021). "FX: Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris To Direct 'Fleishman Is In Trouble'; Sunu Gonera To Helm 'Class of '09". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ Cordero, Rosy; Petski, Denise (November 10, 2021). "'Class of '09': Raúl Castillo, Jake McDorman, Sepideh Moafi, Brian J. Smith Among 7 Cast In FX Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ Canals, Steven [@StevenCanals] (March 1, 2022). "Excited to be back on set directing 2 eps of the upcoming @fxnetworks limited series #Classof09 written by Tom Rob Smith, produced by Colorforce (American Crime Story; Pose). And what a joy to work with this incredible cast, led by Brian Tyree Henry & my #PoseFX fam, Kate Mara" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Class of '09". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ "Shows A-Z – class of '09 on fx on hulu". The Futon Critic. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- Decider. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- TV Insider. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ "Class of '09: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ "Class of '09: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ Ashford, Sage; Vance, Alexander (January 1, 2024). "10 Best TV Shows About Artificial Intelligence". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ Massoto, Erick (May 10, 2023). "'Class of '09' Review: Brian Tyree Henry Leads an Excellent Crime Drama". Collider. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ Complex, Valerie (June 15, 2023). "Black Reel 7th Annual Television Awards Featuring Gender Neutral Categories Announces Nominations; 'The Best Man: Final Chapters' Leads With 18 Noms". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
External links
- Class of '09 at FX
- Class of '09 on Hulu
- Class of '09 at IMDb
