The show held such promise. Borne of the original, it should have been good, but the writing, directing, production quality, and pacing are painfully bad. The cultural insensitivity, overt propaganda, and fear-mongering are appalling. Having lived in Thailand and travelled to Mumbai and Egypt, I can report that CM:BB lampoons these people and their cultures. (And perhaps the others in the series; I could not force myself to watch past episode three.) The acting is not this cast's best and cannot rise above the paper-thin story lines. Having the team travel from one country to the next, episode to episode, there is no way for the show to explore and present a culture with any depth, resulting in stereotypical caricatures and plot lines penned by writers who obviously have never travelled to, nor spent time in any of these countries. (Nor, inexplicably, availed themselves of the internet, a rich repository of information on almost everything.) An FBI team swoops into a country with a big plane, SUVs, judgements, and threats, leaving soon after without having been affected by what they've seen or who they met. There are no sympathetic locals, only criminals and heartless civil servants. Had the creators chosen to delve into one culture for a multi-episode arc, maybe even half a season, and learn about the country, its people, and culture, and see the team grow as a team, struggling with the challenges of being American agents in a foreign country, breaking down their assumptions/misconceptions, forging working relationships with domestic policing agencies - that would have been an awesome series. There was good potential in the bones of this show. The cast and audience deserved better.
Review of The Harmful One
