At first glance The Rookie: Feds is just like all the other police procedurals on TV. However, the not-so-secret ingredient that sets it apart from the rest is Niecy Nash-Betts. Yes, she’s the quintessential wild card who plays by her own rules, but she’s also hilarious, charming and just plain likable.
As first episodes go, the series premiere is not terrible, but it’s not super memorable either. Honestly, it’s a little too paint by numbers. It’s entertaining and fun, yet predictable. If you like procedurals, this will fit nicely into your watchlist but it’s not exactly appointment TV. Check it out at your leisure.
If you missed the show’s introduction last season on The Rookie, Niecy stars as Simone Clark, the oldest graduate of the FBI academy. During the two-episode pilot, she helped the LAPD stop a bomber. As The Rookie: Feds begins, she arrives in LA ready to jump into action, but very quickly figures out she’ll have to prove herself all over again.
Using her LAPD connections and working with characters from The Rookie, Simone cracks the case, offering the FBI a huge lead. And just like that, the team is on a plane and has everything all figured out.
Where The Rookie: Feds excels is with its cast. Niecy is joined by Kevin Zegers as fellow newbie/insecure former actor Brendon Acres, James Lesure as her by-the-book training agent Carter Hope and Frankie R. Faison as Simone’s father Cutty, an activist who has issues with his daughter being in law enforcement.
Simone’s relationship with her father is the most fascinating and unique part of the show. As much as he loves his daughter, his discomfort with a cop in his home and community are ever present. Nash-Betts and Faison let these father/daughter moments breathe in a beautifully, quiet way that the rest of the show can’t seem to find. These are the show’s best scenes, as they balance out some of its less interesting storylines.
While Niecy’s charm and wit can cover some of the series’ flaws, it can only go so far. Looking forward to the rest of the season, I need to see more complicated cases and the characters behaving in less stereotypical ways. It would also help if Simone occasionally turned things down a notch so she’s not always presented at a 10.
At the end of day, The Rookie: Feds is a lot more fun to watch than Law & Order: SVU or FBI and it probably won’t leave you emotionally drained by the time the episode ends.
The Rookie: Feds airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC and is available to stream on Hulu.