Class of '09

Class of '09 is an American drama thriller[1] miniseries created by Tom Rob Smith that premiered on FX on Hulu on May 10, 2023.[2][3]

Not to be confused with Class of '07.

Class of '09
Genre
Created byTom Rob Smith
Starring
ComposerWill Bates
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Albert T. Dickerson III
  • Nellie Reed
Cinematography
  • Radium Cheung
  • Tari Segal
Editors
  • Leo Trombetta
  • Bjorn T. Myrholt
  • Stephen Philipson
  • Bartholomew Burcham
Running time38–48 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original networkFX on Hulu
Original releaseMay 10, 2023 (2023-05-10) –
present (present)

Synopsis

The series takes place across three distinct time periods: The Past (2009), The Present (2023) and The Future (2034), focusing on the transformation of the U.S. criminal justice system, as it is altered by the rise of artificial intelligence.

Cast and characters

Main

Guest starring

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten by [4]Original release date [5]
1"Part of Something"Sunu Gonera
Joe Robert Cole		Tom Rob SmithMay 10, 2023 (2023-05-10)

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 since 2024, petitions the Senate Judiciary Committee to extend his term another 5 years. He argues his implementing of AI into the agency’s investigations has resulted in the steepest decline in criminality in the nation's history. Amos confronts Poet in her home, warning the FBI’s AI use has descended into policing thought crimes. He gives her a card in which she conceals before he is shot and killed by agents.
2"The Fitness Test"Sunu GoneraTom Rob SmithMay 10, 2023 (2023-05-10)

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 racist recruit, and tells Poet about his experience with police brutality as a child. He says her optimistic view of the world worries him.

Michaels and a colleague, Nunez, question suspected extremist Mark Tupirik at his Montana ranch. His wife reveals he is targeting the FBI, and begs for rescue. She is shot, 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. 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 a bombing 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 MarsalisTom Rob SmithMay 17, 2023 (2023-05-17)

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"[6]Amanda MarsalisTom Rob SmithMay 24, 2023 (2023-05-24)
5"The Problem Is People"[7]Steven CanalsTom Rob Smith & Jihan CrowtherMay 31, 2023 (2023-05-31)
6"Hogan's Alley"[8]Steven CanalsTom Rob SmithJune 7, 2023 (2023-06-07)
7TBATBATom Rob SmithJune 14, 2023 (2023-06-14)
8TBATBATom Rob SmithJune 21, 2023 (2023-06-21)

Production

On June 22, 2021, it was reported that FX on Hulu had given the production an eight-episode order. The limited series is created by Tom Rob Smith who also expected to executive produce alongside Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, with Nellie Reed serving as a producer. FX Productions and Color Force are the production companies involved with producing the series.[2][9] Upon the limited series order announcement, Brian Tyree Henry and Kate Mara were also cast to star.[10] On August 13, 2022, it was announced that Sunu Gonera is 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.[11] On March 1, 2022, Steven Canals announced that he directed two episodes of the series.[12] It premiered on May 10, 2023, with the first two episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis.[3]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 58% approval rating with an average rating of 6.5/10, based on 24 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."[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 63 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]

References
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. "Class of '09". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  5. "Shows A-Z – class of '09 on fx on hulu". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  6. "(#104) "Not Your Girlfriend"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  7. "(#105) "The Problem is People"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  8. "(#106) "Hogan's Alle"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. "Class of '09: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  14. "Class of '09: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.