Allegiance

I couldn't make it through the pilot episode of this new 2024 spy drama on CBC. The story follows a rookie cop named Sabrina (by Supinder Wraich) who faces turmoil when her politician father is accused of treason.

While the premise seems interesting, the execution is lackluster. The acting feels, even worse, stiff and unrealistic. The plot also has some glaring holes that are hard to ignore. I gave up halfway through because the amateurish directing and acting made it too difficult to stay engaged. There are much better shows out there to watch instead.

In short, 'Allegiance' falters with uninspired writing, weak acting, and a dull pilot that made me stop watching after one episode.

Rating: Only 4 out of 10 stars and I really can't recommend tuning in to future episodes.

Allegiance is just bad. It feels less like a cop show and more like some kid's Wattpad story. Cheesy dialogue, boring camerawork, and plot holes galore. I won't fault it for trying to push a moral in each episode, whether it's about safe supply or gun control, but the execution is so crude it just comes off as either propaganda or a kids show. The way the show tackles its issues is so shallow and one-sided, we might as well be reading the local NDP candidate's Twitter threads. Whereas earlier Canadian police procedurals like Rookie Blue and Flashpoint gave us a reason to care about the guest character of the week, this show seems to use them as props for our main character to pontificate about the week's social issue. If you're looking for chase scenes or action sequences, look elsewhere. Our Mary Sue main character can't run worth anything, conveniently letting the bad guy get away every time. Every action scene consists of people pointing guns at each other, somehow not getting extra ventilation holes, and being completely charmed by our main character's cheesy recycled pseudo-profound BS speech. The acting is overwrought, but it's hard not to be for dialogue like this (and most of it is exposition). The only character with any believability is the male rookie's training officer, Gabinski, for the few scenes he appears.

There are YouTube Originals that are better than this. If CBC wants to keep its funding under a more hostile government, it needs to do better.

I have been pleasantly surprised by this series. The acting is excellent, bringing the characters to life, the soundtrack is great, a nice counterpoint to the story, helping bring it alive, the cinematography is well done, the camera work and sets are all excellent, the seasonal story arc is very interesting, i love shows that have a seasonal story running in the background of the episodic stories, and the episodic stories are all great, interesting and entertaining and lastly all the characters feel real, not generic or flat, so great casting, which is good because a show is so much better when the characters have depth and realness., Really enjoying Allegiance!

Immediate comparisons to the Hollywood show "The Rookie" which is a somewhat ridiculous show partly because the rookie is the lead in all things and the crime world somehow revolves around the rookie. The same thing occurs in this Canadian production. The rookie solves all crimes and seemingly needs no training at all. So, it's silly from that point of view. Exactly the same storyline's could have been used with a seasoned veteran and would have made more sense.

The upside is that it's well made and well acted so it is certainly watchable. It does look like it will rise above a certain bland level but it'll occupy you pleasantly for an hour or so.

Enjoyed the first episode, it was engaging & interesting. The characters felt believable, the story line was something that felt plausible especially in this current climate. There's some veteran actors here who carry the story nicely, and for a Canadian show it felt like something more interesting that has some weight to it. I don't know much about Surry (sp?), but have watched many shows filmed around Vancouver, Canada and recognized some of the area. Hope the show can stay focused on the issues facing policing, and not get too bogged down by the personal lives which I also feel drags a show down. I also appreciated seeing more diverse stories in a cop show format - I'll definitely be tuning in to see what comes next.