Niecy Nash-Betts Delivers a Fun, Predictable Procedural in the Series Premiere of The Rookie: Feds

The spinoff features the Claws star as a new FBI agent trying to change the system from the inside.

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, sheโ€™s the quintessential wild card who plays by her own rules, but sheโ€™s also hilarious, charming and just plain likable.

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As first episodes go, the series premiere is not terrible, but itโ€™s not super memorable either. Honestly, itโ€™s a little too paint by numbers. Itโ€™s entertaining and fun, yet predictable. If you like procedurals, this will fit nicely into your watchlist but itโ€™s not exactly appointment TV. Check it out at your leisure.

If you missed the showโ€™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 sheโ€™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 Simoneโ€™s father Cutty, an activist who has issues with his daughter being in law enforcement.

Simoneโ€™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 canโ€™t seem to find. These are the showโ€™s best scenes, as they balance out some of its less interesting storylines.

While Niecyโ€™s charm and wit can cover some of the seriesโ€™ 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 sheโ€™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 wonโ€™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.

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