Allegiance (2015) User Reviews

Wonderful and Entertaining

[facesofine · 8/10 · 6 March 2015]

Finally, a smart show that's well-acted without using violence, sex or gore to thrill the senses. There're too many TV shows that rely heavily on violence, sex and gore already. And don't even try to compare this to the Americans. Completely different shows with different plots. Only similarity between these shows is the Russian spy theme. I enjoy the Americans for what it is. And I also enjoy Allegiance tremendously for what it is: fun, entertaining, pure enjoyment--an escape to another family's troubles without me biting my nails off each episode. The naysayers will pour acid on this show. But just let go of your inner critic and simply enjoy a show for its pure fun and entertainment. It's rather up-lifting and refreshing, for a change these days, without a heavy theme or excess use of violence and sex. Love this show!

I liked it!!!

[alexatahiraj · 8/10 · 5 February 2015]

For me most of the intelligence TV shows or movies are pretty much the same just different actors. Covert Affairs, Spooks, Strike Back, Nikita, Chuck, The Americans, etc all basically have the same premise. We don't even care that much how believable they are.

But what brings us back week after week are the characters. Because really do we honestly believe all these missions happen week after week? I am intrigued about the Russian element to the show. I liked the characters so far for the most part. I'm kind of iffy on mommy dearest.

I believe this show does it as well as most others but I love the twist with the parents being Russian spies. Yes I know it has been done, The Americans. Before everyone jumps on me I am not saying they are in the same caliber as The Americans, but I think there will be room for this one as well.

Intelligence Agency TV shows are quickly replacing those gawd awful reality shows and really aren't we all glad for that.

The first time I watched State of Affairs I knew I didn't like it but watched the next one and realized I shouldn't have wasted my time. I enjoyed Covert Affairs, but they wrecked this with the last season. I loved Nikita but I think they went as far as they could go, but I loved the characters. Strike Back was a series I quite enjoyed, but even that show was starting to be the same every week.

I believe this one has a chance, but then I really liked Intelligence and they cancelled that. I think this show is just about entertainment as were most of the others and I think this will be a show I will watch weekly, until they screw it up with the partners sleeping together.

Allegiance is actually pretty good

[rnixon1974 · 7/10 · 16 February 2015]

There are several reviewers who call this show a ripoff of "The Americans". To this rather true assessment, I say this: yes...so what? About 90% of the cop shows on TV are ripoffs of Dragnet, Adam 12 and TJ Hooker (among others). All of the crime scene procedurals are ripoffs of CSI.

The majority of sci fi shows out there mimic Star Trek in some major way. The others steal from Star Wars, X-Men or another easily identifiable antecedent. This copycat behavior is what Hollywood does. I don't say this is a good thing, far from it. But it's what gets approved and broadcast.

As to the show itself... the show's dialogue is actually better than most dramas out here. As good as "The Americans" is, this show gives it a run for its money. Cue cards notwithstanding.

Forgive the ethnocentrism, but as a non-Russian, I don't actually care if most of the actors aren't native Russian speakers (Levieva is, I believe). Nor do I care that their accents do not ring true.

For those debating if the show is worth their 45 minutes, I say give the first episode a look. So far, it's a helluva lot better than many recent shows.

Bring It Back Please

[FKookie · 9/10 · 18 November 2015]

I waited eagerly for each weeks episode and i could not believe it when i was told that the series was cut.. why oh why was this great series cut when lesser series made the cut?

I loved every single one of the cast.. there are very few shows that i have loved all of the main cast and this was one of them.. the story was lovely.. the cast was lovely.. the chemistry was lovely and the acting was good.. hey NBC some winners start out slow thats no reason to cut them.. did you not see the overall rating of the show? bring it back.. Cast of Allegiance you were great individually and as a whole and i love you guys ;_)

Scott Cohen and Hope Davis shine in a fun and interesting spy series...

[Dr_Sagan · 22 February 2015]

This a very good series. It has the right elements to the correct quantities to be a popular series for 2015. Most of them you have seen already in other series and movies, but in the end is all about how you mix them, and in that sense "Allegiance" is a success.

It's about a young analyst who started working for the CIA a few months ago but, as it revealed from the beginning, his mother (the daughter of KGB general) she was a spy for USSR until 6 years ago. Old demons are waking up and the young hero stands in the middle.

The first cliché is that our young analyst is a "savant" of somekind. A genius who didn't speak until he was 8 y.o. but he can read ...400 pages of material and remember all the details in one reading. (Maybe he is a cousin of ...Mike from Suits). Anyway...

The cast is very good and the acting sometimes superb! I have a particular sequence in mind where the great and underrated Scott Cohen (father of the analyst and husband of the mother/ex-spy) is chasing Hope Davis (the mother) who decided to turn herself in at the FBI headquarters. What a great and balanced acting...

Gavin Stenhouse is also a good cast in the main role and Margarita Levieva (playing his sister) adds the "sexy" in the mix...

And it's the Mix in the end on how good a show is perceived. We've seen all these elements before but so far "Allegiance" has the right amounts of each, to be fun and interesting...

weak

[thecunn · 6/10 · 27 March 2015]

Initially I was very excited about this series because I love the spy genre. This series however is a loser. Writing is very bad. It often doesn't make logical sense or is sometimes just absurd. Some compare this to The Americans because it is also about Russian spies in the US. Allegiance is not in the same class as The Americans. Some of the actors, like Gavin Stenhouse are not ready for prime time, but even the better actors here are made to look bad by the bad writing. The central character Alex played by Gavin Stenhouse is a socially awkward naïve genius CIA analyst who doesn't come off at all as believable and is painful to watch. In a recent episode a romantic relation began with Alex and an attractive colleague. There is zero chemistry between the two. One minute Alex is so naïve and awkward that everyone would bet he's a virgin. The next minute he's James Bond going down on the girl. The whole production is amateurish.

Fun, Smart, & Unique

[JarvyTV · 10/10 · 9 February 2015]

This show isn't as horrible as everyone claims it to be. For anyone who's watched The Americans you'd know that these two shows share absolutely nothing other than the fact that they both contain Russians. It isn't a knockoff of The Americans because they aren't really comparable. As a lover of The Americans I can appreciate the sharp writing and acting in The Americans while still appreciating the fast paced environment of Allegiance. It's most likely just a one season show but it'll definitely be a thrill ride. The pilot episode shows the main characters all involved in doing something while absolutely keeping up the pace, it's definitely soapy, interesting, dramatic, & suspenseful so it has that going for it as well. Allegiance might not be as high quality as The Americans but it knows what it wants to be and how to portray it on screen.

Awesome!

[zingertalesandmore · 10/10 · 11 February 2015]

I love Allegiance's original and astute writing. I can tell it is going to be one hell of a thrilling ride, with A list New York actor at the helm that will give it just the right authentic feel it needs. The pilot episode was fast paced, dramatic, suspenseful and artfully executed. Allegiance is high quality network TV. Also, I love Cohen and Davis, they are like Bogie and Becall together. And Stenhouse has such a wonderful Sherlock Holmes-like qualities when he is assessing data. I believe Nolfi has a big hit on his hands. Love, Love, Love this show! I don't see any similarities to The Americans other than the fact they are both about Russians.

I despair. Do the writers really think people are so stupid ?

[jonnithomas · 4/10 · 7 July 2015]

The storyline is ridiculous where the son is a rookie CIA guy that is some sort of boy wonder/ Sherlock Holmes replica come bloodhound that can detect traces of a location via his bionic nose. His boss doesn't want him but acquiesces to the rookie's preposterous detective work that is then found to be 100% right somehow.

Then we have his family is a Russian sleeper cell that bugs his clothes and this is never detected at the CIA or FBI Next we have secrets secured in a safe which the Russians have to get his family to steal as IT WILL TAKE A WEEK to get a team from Russia. Obviously they only have 6 Active Russians in the whole of the USA.

Ohhh, also the Russians are more like evil gangsters that kill each other and haven't any discipline.

So that's up to episode 3. I will do what everyone else is doing that's not 12. I will stop watching it now.

I'm really loving this show, please don't cancel!!

[beckyfroks · 9/10 · 17 March 2015]

I agree with a previous comment about the "Mom".... really don't like her AT ALL. It has real potential! So very many shows I like are being zapped, and for what??!?! Reality TV?? Singing, dancing, survivor type crap I can't believe any of my fellow Americans actually WATCH that stuff. Meanwhile, anything interesting, exciting, or "God forbid" challenging gets zapped.

I really hope the below is true!! "I believe this show does it as well as most others but I love the twist with the parents being Russian spies. Yes I know it has been done, The Americans. Before everyone jumps on me I am not saying they are in the same caliber as The Americans, but I think there will be room for this one as well.

"Intelligence Agency TV shows are quickly replacing those gawd awful reality shows and really aren't we all glad for that." !! YES WE ARE!!

Ex-Soviet's perspective: badly written, badly acted attempt to clone The Americans.

[temporaldisturbance · 3/10 · 6 February 2015]

I can't even write a coherent review, just a series of observations.

1) The only good actor in the show is the leader of the Chinese gang from "Sons Of Anarchy", who plays a CIA agent here and has actual presence in the scenes.

2) It's painful to watch actors struggle with bad writing, I.E. when someone casually recites their autobiography to another character in unusual detail while it's actually aimed at you, "the dumb viewer".

3) The actors don't behave like worn-out, savvy spies, but rather like the over-emotional, neurotic types from "Grey's Anatomy". Their continuous survival is not believable in the slightest. So the "good guys" are the hand-wringing emotional types. The "villainous" ones act like villain caricatures from a comic book, with the evil smirking and worn-out clichés. There's no subtlety here, and as result, no tension.

4) I grew up in Soviet Union. In "The Americans" show, nearly all "Russians who need to speak Russian" were native speakers, who used natural turn of phrase - and it mattered. Their presence was more natural, even if you do not understand Russian, simply because the actors were being, more or less, themselves. Chances are, most of these actors remember living in USSR.

Wisely, "The Americans" kept its leading actors, who are not speakers, from ever speaking in Russian, and it fit with the plot.

"Allegiance", on the other hand, is mostly filled with actors who are just reading phonetic Russian from cue cards. This is standard fare for American TV and film, but in a show CENTERED around Russian speakers, you really gotta up your game, no?

5) "The Americans" is tense because it takes place at the height of the Cold War. "Allegiance" tries to generate the same tension in modern times, and that doesn't work.

Yes, Russia is not a good place to live. It's got problems with freedom of speech, mafia, corruption, treatment of minorities, and even a degree of tyranny.

HOWEVER - it is not a closed-off system like the USSR. Their Internet isn't self-enclosed and heavily filtered like in North Korea. You can actually travel IN and OUT. The information, more or less, flows freely. There's no more need for tuning into "illegal" Western radio stations to get the truth.

We are NOT in a Cold War - far from it - despite the American administration's continuous bungling of relations with Russia and petulant and hostile behavior toward Putin, all the while they turn around and get cozy with Cuba(!), designated by the U.S. Department Of State as a state sponsor of terrorism - one among 4.

Russia is not among those 4 countries - Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria.

These are different times. The setting doesn't fit reality. This show could've as well been anti-Russian propaganda, sponsored by the Obama administration. State-sponsored television is, after all, a very familiar sight to those of us who grew up in USSR.

6) The ripping-off of "The Americans" isn't a theory, it is fact. The show is based on a premise taken from key plot development from "The Americans" season 2 finale.

It even uses a similar-colored, similar-sized and placed font for Russian translations, so that a person tuning in during the middle of the show, could perchance mistake it for "The Americans" and keep watching.

Ugh.

Allegiance is a winner.

[mjst19 · 10/10 · 11 February 2015]

If you haven't seen Allegiance, you should. I love a good spy thriller and this one fits the bill.

It has a great cast and an intricate storyline. It's well paced and has some interesting plot twists. I suspect not all is as it seems and there will be more surprises along the way.

The pilot did a great job of introducing the characters and their relationships to one another. All the actors played their parts well and were believable, particularly Scott Cohen, Hope Davis, and Gavin Stenhouse.

Eagerly looking forward to see how the story unfolds.

bring it back

[rmickey-57237 · 10/10 · 1 May 2015]

I enjoy this show I hope you can bring it back I look forward to watching this series please bring it back There are so many shows on that are so stupid This shows on TV has a nice story line please bring it back I have group of friend who look forward to seeing this series then we get together to talk about it Please bring it back The actors make the plot so real It makes you wonder if things like this really go on I feel like I'm part of the family The series leaves you hanging you need to see what's going to happen. Does the family run away or do they stay, also how does the younger sister adjust to what's going to happen in her life how does she adjust. ]

enjoyed show

[ramel-62182 · 10/10 · 22 July 2015]

Our family very much enjoyed this show and in my opinion the subtle differences from other shows. We hope that somehow another channel buys it and airs another season- thought the characters were interesting and plot was exciting- we felt the show could have grown. Too many reality and shows the same- at least this network show was a little different than the rest. Junk TV sells I guess but we enjoyed this show..We are not sure of how all the details of ratings go from live watches, to recorded or DVR but it's unfortunate to start something and then leave it hanging. It seems there are so many spots that might be available to run episodes to at least finish the show by either a second season or a small two to three part mini ending would be a neat idea. I feel leaving audiences with cancelled and unfinished shows turns them away. Our family wasn't able with the schedules to watch live, but very much enjoyed the week or two of watching a show each night-

Avoid.

[oliver_kittler · 1/10 · 22 February 2015]

If you are looking at the reviews, you probably like other 'spy' shows such as: Spooks, Homeland, 24, The Americans, Strike Back, Burn Notice, Person of Interest, The Blacklist, or even Archer, and are hoping this would be one of your new favourites - it won't.

This show will insult you as it assumes you to be dumb. A show called Scorpion springs to mind as being an equal insult to the viewer.

As much as I love these kinds of shows, Allegiance doesn't work. It's not smart, believable, nor funny. It's not even unique. It feels more like an attempt to put what makes other shows a success together - only the parts don't fit.

This show is full of stereotypes and clichés, which is only ever a good thing if the show aims to be funny (Burn Notice). It really is as horrible as everyone makes it out to be.

Hate aside, the pilot has exactly one smart moment which I enjoyed a lot - too bad it also reminded me what the show could have been, but sadly is not.

The Quest for the Sweet White Potato

[politicon2003 · 9/10 · 7 February 2015]

I seldom compose a review of just the first episode of a new TV series. However, this pilot was surprisingly good and I cannot refrain from some positive remarks. The usual American spy-thriller TV series are utter nonsense albeit entertaining like 'Covert Affairs' where the staff of the CIA seem to wallow in super luxurious offices. Instead, in this series, the CIA offices at Langley are shown as drab and purely functional like the bare winter landscape outside, devoid of glamour.. We are comfortably reminded that CIA agents are not allowed to carry weapons when they are operating stateside so no exciting 'bang-bang' chases likely unless the action moves abroad. There is, however, one short car chase through Manhattan which is quite realistic.

Indeed, 'Allegiance' seems more realistic than the usual American spy series. Okay there is an element of pandering to the average Fox News fed audience in reflection of New Cold War politics, so the Russians are the renewed really nasty villains with evil sadistic accents and no redeeming features. The Russian stereotypes now head the list of undesirables thus demoting the Arabs and Serbs to second and third rank respectively in degree of villainy. The ghastly opening scene shows a group of suited male Russians and one woman in an underground basement about to consign a bound but nor gagged screaming victim to a horrible death by cremating him alive in a heating furnace. Either the script writers dreamed up such a grisly form of execution or they copied a similar scene from the 1974 French police movie ' Borsalino and Co.' where the Mob cremates a live victim by serving him up as fuel for a speeding steam locomotive. The point of such a vividly revolting scene at the very beginning of 'Allegiance' is revealed during the episode. The principal characters are the family and acquaintances of a middle–aged man, Mark O'Connor, married to Katya a Russian emigrant. They are apparently enjoying a comfortable life in a fashionably renovated period town house across the East River from Manhattan. The couple live with their two daughters; a grown up Natalie and Sarah of around 12. Their son Alex has recently joined the CIA at Langley where his exceptional natural talents as an analyst and linguist are impressing his superiors at the time when a leakage of a Russian plot to stage a massive 911 like action against America has come to the attention of the CIA. They need to know the identity of the plotters and more details of the plot itself. They hope to gather most of the vital information from a female Russian secret service agent who has expressed a wish to defect to the head of the CIA office in New York. The family's supposed cosy life is about to end. The day begins with an urgent phone call from Mark who has just left an exotic foods supermarket where he has learned the devastating news that among 16 varieties of white potatoes there are no sweet white potatoes which were on Katya's shopping list. The sales woman say she never hear of such sweet spuds (my own wife bought some the other day so they do exist) . After a modicum of phone bickering Mark makes his way home. He has hardly settled in back home when the door-bell rings and……. I shall omit the rest of the exciting evolution of events in episode 1 . If the momentum and intrigue of this pilot is maintained 'Allegiance' might end among the top ten of US TV series in 2015.

Biased US spy drama

[s3276169 · 3/10 · 22 February 2015]

Allegiance takes the same concept found in The Americans and ruins it. This show offers up a stereotypical, biased take on the spy genre. The US is good and virtuous. Russia is evil and out for world domination.Even Edward Snowden, a man who many, including myself, consider a hero, comes in for back handed criticism. There's no room for negotiation with anyone who doesn't tow the official US line, be it domestic or international.

Oh and lets throw in a disturbing scene, reminiscent of Orwell's 1984, where the young lead character emphatically threatens to sell out his loving parents to the "government", for the "greater good".

The only thing saving this series from being a complete wash out is the acting is solid and the fact that there is some genuine interest to be derived from the plot. It would be nice to see a little fairness and objectivity injected into the series. If that happens I may consider reviewing my rating but as it stands, three out of ten from me.

Has a ring of authenticity to it

[epistolary-genre-236-135412 · 10/10 · 10 February 2015]

I was born in the former USSR in 1960s, grew up behind the Iron Curtain and as a rule, I don't watch the local versions of the reality or probabilities presented on TV for the lack of authenticity. The choices that people made, why they made these choices, their motivations, struggles, challenges, at least we could get a glimpse of them in this episode. American viewers are so used to certain views of the Soviets "sold" to them by the local press. I can't tell you how many times my American friends would tell me " If you only knew how much I hated you, guys while growing up". They feel ashamed that the media "sold" them the idea of regular people being trap behind the Iron Curtain, as some sort of two-head monsters. This new TV series does feel authentic to me. Great acting by the cast. Enough of danger without sliding into a parody of it. I plan on watching, hope that the steam would not go out of the is show after the pilot episode.

Amazing show!

[playtherapyhelp · 10/10 · 16 February 2015]

This show is fantastic. It is nothing like the Americans except that there are Russians in the show. It's fast paced, witty, well written, well acted, and expertly directed and produced. It's incredibly engaging. I was hooked from a few minutes into the first episode. The second episode is even better than the first.

Gavin Stenhouse is amazing and totally believable as Alex. Hope Davis and Scott Cohen are equally good. Morgan Spector is a standout, one of the best actors I've seen on TV recently. It's a really interesting premise, and the family dynamics keep you guessing. I can't wait for future episodes.

Impeccable, Excellent, Classy, Superb Acting, Superb Writing,

[carmimol · 10/10 · 20 March 2015]

This is the best show ever! Great writers, great actors and actresses! 50,000 levels higher than Americans. Allegiance focuses more on Alex who is a very interesting character, unlike the Americans which focuses on the husband and wife. This is a great, great, great, great, great, great show ever! I hope they don't kill ANYBODY off like they always do in TV shows! Alex as a character is highly intelligent and yet is funny as a bumbling field operative. It is classy and smart and yet funny at times. Great character development! High brow writing and acting! High level writing and yet still very very entertaining!

I will tell all my friends and family about this TV show!

Extremely cliché, not that bad

[bfb0 · 2/10 · 13 February 2015]

The show is what you would expect, typical wonder kid who knows it all and those working with him try to keep up with his brilliance. He knows the answer to every mystery and is good-looking, speaks several languages and has a photographic memory where he can recall specific stuff that happened 20 years ago.

Typical cold war stereotypes of Russians but set in today's time. Russia is out to destroy the free United States and the new KGB will resort to mobster tactics to accomplish their goals. The writing is average and the events are reliability predictable.

Not bad if you've got time to kill, but definitely nothing groundbreaking. If you like espionage shows, "The Americans" is a much much better show.

EXCELLENT story, excellent actors, episodes you really look forward to watch.

[michaeljustgreat · 10/10 · 6 April 2015]

I heard that NBC already canceled this EXCELLENT Allegiance TV series just after 5 episodes!! Pure madness if you ask me. Such a stupid decision demonstrates how stupid and so short-term the people at NBC are. With more time, more viewers would have discovered this excellent TV series.

There is a very good and interesting main story. The actors are nothing short of excellent. In particular, Gavin Stenhouse as Alex O'Connor who, all by himself, really makes this TV series highly interesting in many ways by his excellent acting.

I hope this TV series is continued with several more seasons through Netflix or Amazon because it would be a crime to have it stopped only after 9 episodes.

Here are mostly TV series and a few movies that I highly recommend, as I watched them and enjoyed them a lot.

--------------------------------------------------------

There are a few classics in science-fiction TV series:

---Smallville

---Star Trek: Enterprise

---Babylon 5

---Earth: Final Conflict

---Battlestar Galactica

---Star Wars (6 movies so far and counting)

---Jupiter Ascending (a movie)

all deserving 15 out of 10 because they are all very special TV series for the quality of their stories and for the amazing actors that they have. Are these TV series perfect? No, as they sometimes have "filler" episodes that are not too great and they also sometimes have "holes", illogical elements in the main story or in the individual stories of particular episodes. Despite sometimes the presence of these very few shortcomings, these TV series are really unique and special in many ways that you will nevertheless enjoy them greatly.

Other TV series that are excellent but not necessarily science-fiction? Here is my list of other excellent TV series that you will appreciate a lot:

--A few more science-fiction:

---Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome (it is science-fiction)

---Caprica (it is science-fiction)

---Babylon 5: Thirdspace (it is science-fiction)

---Space: Above and Beyond (it is science-fiction)

---Defying Gravity (it is science-fiction)

---The Tomorrow People (it is science-fiction)

---The 100 (it is science-fiction)

---Almost Human (it is science-fiction)

--Non-science fiction:

---24

---24: Live Another Day

---Dexter

---The Vampire Diaries (it is fantasy I could call it)

---Breaking Bad

---Kyle XY (it is slightly science-fiction)

---Nikita

---Damages

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allegiance suitable replacement for those who cannot get cable('The Americans')

[jwsanfrancisco · 28 February 2015]

...I love this show,( earnest acting & earnest scriptwriting), but the scripts, a la 'Breaking Bad' require a certain amount of investment in time, as they are very intricately written. Despite that it is a suitable replacement for suspense addicts(a la breaking bad)& a good introductory primer on the inner workings of "KGB-like' SOviet intelligence agency apparatchik. ALso, unlike 'Madame Secretary', w/ tea Leoni,you could even imagine this family living in your neighborhood. I also like to watch shows w/ unknown actors, a la Anna Gunn('Skyler WHite'of BB),instead of the usualHollywood A- listers,.....all in all, villainy always makes for a good show, the more villains the better. THE final act? hopefully, a second season for a great show.....

A disappointment

[Perald · 2/10 · 6 January 2018]

Alex can fly out from industrial complexes surrounded by police, and create a car out of nothing, and 200 other unexplained things.

And stupid operatives that leave a laptop on the kitchen counter, for no reason, other than that they need to retrieve it.....it's 4 pounds was probably too heavy.

Killing people for no obvious gain is also needed it seems like.

A CIA anaylyst that had a KGB-general as grandfather is of course a trusted one...

Smart. Edgy. Current

[sparkswilliamt · 10/10 · 20 February 2024]

This is a great show if you like smart, well acted cop drama that tackles real issues. Characters are relatable. Story line is real and not the usual stereotypes. We'll done GEM.

I live in Surrey and know the real scene here. Allegiance shows the real racial mix, the harder social conditions of our community, but also the beauty and good heart of this place.

I also am impressed with the way Allegiance is approaching the race, gender, sexual orientation issues in all their many dimensions. Too often shows use these issues to seem relevant but pain with too broad a brush. Not this one. Nuanced and real. Let's keep this one going.