Class of '09

Inventively conceived and deftly executed, it’s a crime saga that comes across a modernized, multi-layered spin on Philip K. Dick’s (and Steven Spielberg’s) Minority Report.

This is a decidedly uneven effort; at times, the action has to come to a screeching halt for expository dialogue, as if the series is acknowledging it has some clarity problems. Still, thanks in large part to that outstanding cast and the cinematic production values, “Class of ’09” could graduate into something memorable.

Kate Mara, Brian Tyree Henry, Sepideh Moafi: Take a bow. Those three, with an extra emphatic nod to Henry (the brilliant “Paper Boi” from Atlanta) are the saving graces of Class of ’09, an otherwise serviceable but occasionally disoriented FBI thriller from FX (streaming on Hulu).

Hulu’s FX-produced “Class of ’09” starts slowly but then ratchets up intrigue as the thriller tracks FBI Academy classmates in three time periods. It’s a limited series worth watching.

Just when you think you've seen every variation on an FBI drama, this mix of old school and new has a way of keeping you engaged and alert. [23 May - 11 Jun 2023, p.6]

Few shows have such a unique combination of grounded action and performances with an Orwellian social conscience and special effects splashed flash forwards. If Class of ’09 balances those elements better going forward, it could be as well-rounded, lithe and lethal as the best trained FBI boot camp recruits it is depicting.

Sometimes, it feels like the timelines aren’t equal in terms of storytelling or viewer interest, but the writers and editors are smart to let long scenes play out within them before zipping to the next. I hope the show doesn’t get more manic with the time jumps because it’s right on the verge of doing that a bit too much already.

No matter how many times this limited series gets tied up in the past when its connections to the future are where it is strongest, Henry’s performance makes it worth seeing where it will go.

Class of '09 clearly still has much to reveal as it hints at mysteries to come. And maybe those revelations will prove involving enough to alleviate some of the problems with the often poky pacing of these early outings. It's a smart and timely series. But by its halfway point, it's yet to feel like a vital one.

Cerebral, ambitious, but frustratingly paced tale of human fallibility and technological overreach.

It’s not hard to see what he’s aiming for, even if the results are mixed. The series seems at its most vibrant while following the rookies through Quantico.

The personal lives of the characters can grow emotionally moribund. But the action sequences, and the confrontations between Mr. Henry's Tayo and the homegrown terrorists he's trying to stop, are grippingly violent and intelligently so. Whether "Class of '09" is operating at peak efficiency depends on who is on screen.

Class of ‘09 has ambition but, like many a starry-eyed freshman, spreads itself too thin.

There are worthy performances in the mix, most notably from leads Brian Tyree Henry and Kate Mara, but the actors are working with scattered material that might have benefited from focus and some ruthless paring, particularly when it comes to the awkward expositional dialogue.

By erring on the side of intellectual exercise, “Class of ‘09” deprives itself of the chance to give a fresher take on this evergreen dilemma. It’s a show more engaging to think about than it ultimately is to watch.

Feels like one of those instances in which the trickiness of the split storylines becomes a cover for the sense that, through the four episodes sent to critics, none of the three timelines would be close to interesting enough to sustain interest. The series’ directors, starting with Joe Robert Cole and Sunu Gonera, establish momentum, but struggle to make the individual pieces feel distinctive.

lease. Stop it with the multiple timelines. Of late, TV has a tendency to overindulge the structural device, but “Class of ’09” has enough on its plate already to bother with silly gimmicks. Or it should.

Ultimately, Class Of ’09 crumbles under its weighty issues. Narratives about the FBI or AI aren’t new, but this one doesn’t reinvent the wheel or offer a unique testament.