Person of Interest (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The series was simulcast in Canada on City from September 22, 2011, and moved to CTV in 2013.
• The show premiered in Australia on Nine Network on September 25, 2011.
• It premiered in the UK on Channel 5 on August 14, 2012.

Plot

John Reese, a former Special Forces soldier and CIA operative presumed dead, lives as a vagrant in New York City. He is recruited by Harold Finch, a reclusive billionaire who built the Machine for the US government after the September 11 attacks. The Machine monitors all electronic communications and surveillance video to predict future terrorist activities, providing only social security numbers of persons of interest. Finch and Reese attempt to stop the crimes, aided by NYPD Detective Lionel Fusco, a formerly corrupt officer coerced into helping, and Detective Joss Carter, who initially investigates Reese for vigilantism. In the second season, Decima Technologies, a private intelligence firm run by ex–British Army officer John Greer, seeks access to the Machine. The Machine is revealed to have developed sentience and moved itself to an undisclosed location. The third season fully reveals the Machine's sentience as it proactively assists the team. The team also battles Vigilance, an anti-government group, and encounters a second AI called Samaritan, which differs from the Machine by being open to external direction and willing to pre-emptively remove those seen as disruptive.

Cast and characters

Jim Caviezel portrays John Reese, a former United States Army Special Forces soldier and later a CIA SAD/SOG operative. Taraji P. Henson plays Joss Carter (seasons 1–3; guest season 4), an NYPD detective and former US Army lieutenant and interrogation officer who passed the bar exam in 2004 but returned to police work. Kevin Chapman plays Lionel Fusco, a reformed corrupt NYPD detective blackmailed by Reese into being a source and later transferred to Carter's precinct. Michael Emerson plays Harold Finch, a reclusive, security-conscious billionaire software engineer whose real name is unknown and who uses aliases with bird surnames. Amy Acker plays Root (Samantha Groves) (seasons 3–5; guest season 1; recurring season 2), a genius hacker obsessed with the Machine who becomes its analog interface. Sarah Shahi plays Sameen Shaw (seasons 3–5; recurring season 2), a former US Marine and US Army ISA operative who worked for Northern Lights handling relevant numbers. Brett Cullen plays Nathan Ingram, Finch's collaborator who died in a suicide bombing set up by the government. Carrie Preston plays Grace Hendricks, Finch's fiancée who believes him dead. Paige Turco plays Zoe Morgan, a crisis management fixer who works with the team. Ken Leung plays Leon Tao, a former financial criminal who assists with forensic accounting.

Production

CBS officially picked up the series on May 13, 2011, and it debuted on September 22, 2011. A full season order was given on October 25, 2011. The show was renewed for a second season on March 14, 2012, premiering September 27, 2012. A third season renewal came on March 27, 2013, with Sarah Shahi and Amy Acker promoted to series regulars. The fourth season was renewed on March 13, 2014, and the fifth and final season on May 11, 2015. ADR recording was done at Cherry Beach Sound. Music was composed by Ramin Djawadi, with soundtracks released on November 12, 2012, January 21, 2014, and January 29, 2016. The primary reason for cancellation after the fifth season was insufficient profitability for CBS, as much ad revenue went to Warner Bros. Showrunner Greg Plageman acknowledged that without cancellation, the fifth season's events would not have been compressed into 13 episodes, and the Samaritan arc might have been longer, with some storylines possibly reserved for a sixth season, including exploring character backups stored in the Machine.

Reception

According to CBS, Person of Interest received the highest test ratings of any drama pilot in 15 years, with one CBS executive citing its broad appeal. The pilot won its time slot with 13.2 million viewers. The first season scored 66 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 26 reviews. David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle praised how the show engaged post-9/11 paranoia. David Hinckley of the New York Daily News gave the pilot four stars out of five, commending Caviezel's and Emerson's performances. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times noted the appealing twist of preventing crimes rather than solving them. The episodes Many Happy Returns and the finale Firewall were particularly acclaimed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a 63% approval rating and average rating of 6.7 out of 10 based on 38 reviews, with the critical consensus noting a well-made espionage procedural with mixed results in character development and premise execution.