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A new military themed show premiered on NBC when American Odyssey got to our screens.
As presented by NBC, American Odyssey is ” a complex journey through global politics, corporate espionage, and military secrets involving three strangers who only have one thing in common … the truth. In this “Traffic”-like action drama, an international conspiracy explodes when the lives of a female Special Forces soldier, a disillusioned corporate lawyer and a political activist from a privileged family unexpectedly collide.
After a team of American soldiers battles jihadists in North Africa, they’re shocked to learn that they’ve stumbled upon and killed Al Qaeda’s top commander. Sgt. Odelle Ballard (Anna Friel, “Pushing Daisies”) — a soldier, mother, wife and the unit’s only female member — discovers computer files that prove that a major U.S. corporation is funding the jihadists. But before she can tell anyone, her team is attacked and killed. The world is told that the unit was wiped out by enemy militants, but the truth is that Odelle survived and is the only witness to her unit’s true assassins: private military contractors Osela (think “Blackwater”).
As Odelle struggles to survive and find her way home, in New York former U.S. Attorney turned corporate litigator Peter Decker (Peter Facinelli, “Nurse Jackie”) finds himself embroiled in a merger with the same company that funded the jihadists. As Peter begins to connect the corrupt dots of this company’s terrorist involvement, Harrison Walters (Jake Robinson, “The Carrie Diaries”), a political activist and trust fund kid, meets a hacker, Bob Offer (Nate Mooney, “The Riches”), who claims to have unearthed a massive military-industrial-complex conspiracy. Bob is right: He’s stumbled onto the same cover-up that Odelle discovered, which will soon become a national headline with lethal implications. The only way they’ll ever save their country, their families and themselves is by joining forces and exposing the people behind it.
The series also stars Jim True-Frost (“The Wire”), Sadie Sink, Omar Ghazaoui, Elena Kampouris (“Men, Women & Children”), Daniella Pineda, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (“Lost”) and Treat Williams (“Everwood”.)
What did I think of the show: It is clearly well executed in terms of rythm, cinematography, the cast is great and the story is believable. I guess it all comes up to how you feel about the subject and how comfortable you are with American nepotism on screen. That´s where the show lost me a bit. I´ll give it a few more episodes, but I bet I am not the target demographic. But if you are, this is probably one of the best new shows around. It´s all a matter of taste.
What do you think? Have you watched American Odyssey? Will you? Let me know in the comments section, and follow me on Twitter for more scoop.