This series is listed under the science fiction genre, but most of the technology depicted in the show is not very futuristic. That makes it a cautionary tale worth thinking about.
The story is about a manhunt, but the object of the hunt is not a man; it's a rogue A.I. The hunt is led, unofficially, by Paul LeBlanc (John Slattery), former owner of Zava, the company that wrote the code for the A.I., called neXt. LeBlanc sees neXt as an existential threat to mankind. As LeBlanc, with the aid of a few FBI agents, tries to outsmart neXt---which has the ability to expand and teach itself---it is like watching a chess match. And we know how grandmasters have fared against chess-playing A.I.
The action is tight and suspenseful. The viewer is caught up in every action and reaction, knowing that lives are at stake at every turn. LeBlanc is something of a misanthrope, not known for civility or respect for social conventions. So he struggles when he must reach out for assistance. His relationship with FBI Special Agent Shea Salazar (Fernanda Andrade) starts off rough, but she learns, through necessity, to tolerate him. It doesn't help LeBlanc's credibility that he suffers from a rare malady, giving him hallucinations and impaired memory.
Salazar is on the Cybercrime Task Force. She struggles daily with the demands of her career and her home life. She is a very likable character, so we care when, in the midst of an emergency, she learns that her son is being bullied at school.
There are attempts to give neXt an audio-visual representation at times, making it more concrete as a threat, like HAL in "2001", but sometimes we fear even more the unseen monster (as was the case in most of "Jaws" or "Alien"). The story is a variation on "Frankenstein", but this monster is self-generating by design, and it approaches omniscience and omnipotence like a ceaseless mathematical function that approaches godhead. This is the genesis of Skynet.
After three episodes, I am optimistic that the writing will not flag and will remain creative and engaging.
