FBI

A fast-paced drama that’s engaging and timely but still polished and slick enough to deliver the type of escapist entertainment “Law & Order” fans recognize.

The opening chapter’s gripping first scene finds the local FBI unit confronting a terror bombing. ... There’s also a smoothly supercilious, white supremacist (a striking performance by Dallas Roberts) and references to an organization with a title evocative of a current battle cry: Make America Great Again.

FBI moves swiftly and sometimes graphically through its earth-shaking opening investigation, adding and dropping suspects in a familiar pattern that nonetheless seems fresh and certainly isn’t dull.

Consider FBI an hour of TV comfort food. It will keep you satisfied until the next episode, without any binge-worthy cravings for Peregrym, Sisto et al. in-between.

Black and white pedestrian characters and plots may satisfy traditional CBS viewers, but it won’t win over many new recruits.

FBI is like every other crime procedural you’ve already seen, and if that’s what you’re looking for in a TV show, then nothing here will come as a revelation. It probably won’t come as a disappointment, either.

It's all just straightforward follow-the-clues, rinse and repeat, with no real twists or high drama, but a steady pace. ... Almost none of the character-based exposition in the pilot feels fluid and easy--still artistic compared to something like Bull--yet it's done in a way that lets the pilot move along and, after 42 minutes, I know a few things about several main characters. It's also just enough character development for the core cast members to do solid work.

FBI has inherited good bone structure from its "Law & Order" ancestors, with its promising partner chemistry and intricate plot structure. But it needs to flesh out a stronger identity if it wants to be more than just another cop show.

Given that it hits all the familiar Law & Order beats, the success of FBI is contingent on the charisma of its two leads, and the first episode does little to convince that Maggie Bell is even playing the same sport as Olivia Benson.

CBS has a good history with abbreviations ("CSI," "NCIS"), but creatively speaking, "FBI" is DOA.

A 2+2=4 cop show with no surprises but plenty of Wolf touches.