The television industry has undergone substantive changes over the last few decades. As mentioned by Jeff Yang, in the late 2000’s, newly released movies and TV shows took a new spin to depict multiculturalism. This paper dwells on the Quantico, an ABC Studios TV-show, as an example of how American television embraced characters of different ethnicities in the latest years.

Quantico premiered in September of 2015 on ABC. The show has two seasons and a total of 44 episodes. The premiere of the third season is scheduled for April 2018. The series is now available on Netflix, and is popular among the international audience, especially in Canada, Australia, and India. The plot of the series revolves around the recruits at the FBI Academy who undergo training in Quantico, Virginia. Upon graduating, the main character, Alex Parrish, becomes the main suspect in the most damaging terroristic attack since September 11. The story goes in two timelines – the past where Parrish and her fellow recruits undergo training at the academy, and the present, where Alex tries to prove her innocence. The show is a drama thriller and was aired on Sundays at 10:00 pm, and is aimed at adult audiences. The viewers and critics praised the series for the performance of the main character, Priyanka Chopra, and the diversity of the cast.

The main character in Quantico, Alex Parrish, is among the brightest examples in modern television of how international cast livens up and attracts a broader audience to a show with a somewhat traditional plot line. Performed by a Bollywood superstar Priyanka Chopra, the character has an unusual cultural twist that was welcomed by the audience. Moreover, Chopra was the first South Asian to headline an American drama series. Critics described the actress as charismatic and stated she was the most valuable human asset of the show. For her performance, Chopra received two People’s Choice Awards for “Favorite Actress In A New TV Series” and for “Favorite Dramatic TV Actress” becoming the first South Asian actress ever to win such awards. It should be noted that Chopra was born and raised in India, and had no background in the United States. This proves that the American television has undergone a substantive change starting from its origins. Today, it not only includes Americans with various racial and ethnical backgrounds but also casts international stars to attract more attention to the show.

Such a trend can be attributed to a variety of reasons. Firstly, as mentioned Yang, the modern era of television is focused on providing more diversity. The TV shows are giving a more realistic picture of a typical American citizen. Descendants of immigrants are portrayed more realistically; they do not have to have a perfect American accent or be of a typical American appearance. In contrast, diversity on a TV screen attracts a wider range of viewers with similar roots who can relate to characters. Secondly, a typical American superstar agent, as pictured in the majority of the older TV-series, is a Caucasian male, and the majority of them look alike. Such images do not leave any emotional reaction in the viewer anymore because there are so many of them and so few distinctive features. In Quantico, the central character is a female and is Indian, which makes her stand out among other similar characters. Such a move by the producers and its warm reception by the audience proves that even the modern television has gone further in its strive for diversity.

Indeed, in the late 1990’s – early 2000’s a new spin in the history of television has brought to screens many new stars of Latino background, who were not perfectly tailored in accordance with the traditional Hollywood standards (Yang). However, today the producers have realized that there are is more diversity in America, and started to include characters with Asian, Middle East, and other origins. The cast of Quantico is in all senses multicultural and therefore appeals to a broader audience than more traditional casts including Caucasian, Latino, and African American actors. The agent recruits, who are the center of narration, include the mentioned Alex Parrish, Simon Asher from Brooklyn, Shelby Wyatt, who is also referred to as “southern belle”, Nimah Anwar, who is originally portrayed as a conservative Muslim wearing a hijab, Ryan Booth with typical good looks of a US guy, and a Mormon Eric Packer. The multinational cast is a sign of the “opening of both minds and borders” (Yang).

In my opinion, Nimah Amin is a particularly interesting character, given her background and a mysterious personality. Nimah is very reserved in her relations with other recruits. Her religion and origin make others prejudiced against her despite her deep love for America and patriotism. It turns out that Nimah has a twin sister and the two of them pretend to be one person switching positions during training at the FBI Academy. During the toughest training, the twins wear hijab and prove that their religion does not prevent them from being remarkable recruits. Moreover, they often have to be tougher and better than their fellow students as to fight the prejudice against them being female and Muslim. Later on in the series when their secret is revealed, Nimah’s individuality is pictured more vividly: she does not wear hijab anymore because she is not as religious as her sister, and she does not have to pretend any longer. Such a transition is a great example how Muslim women do not always fall within the generally accepted stereotypes and are much more than just a mask they are wearing. It should be very informative for the audience, especially in the light of general misconceptions about the Muslims. There is also an interesting twist to Nimah’s character when it turns out she belonged to a terrorist organization Citizen Liberation Front. She joined the organization because she thought that America would never accept people who are different. Thus, her never-ending fight with stereotypes and unwillingness of people to accept her as a person, and not as a representative of a religion, has led her to “fight dirty.”

In summary, Quantico is an excellent example of a modern TV series that provides both an interesting plot and remarkable characters. The series introduces a bright and catchy main character Alex Parrish, played by a Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra. The main character of an unusual origin received positive feedback from both audience and critics and brought numerous awards to the foreign actress, which means that today the US viewers are more receptive to the international cast than they used to be at the dawn of television (Yang). Moreover, the series was recognized for the diversity of the cast, which included characters with different cultural and religious backgrounds. Such a variety of characters attracts a broader audience, including people from other countries, and helps to fight general misconceptions associated with particular cultures. One of the characters that stands out the most is Nimah Amin who is a Muslim trainee with a mysterious personal story. Her evolution throughout the series shows how representatives of other cultures may feel outcasts in the American society because of the unwillingness of people to accept anyone who is different. Overall, the series is a representative of the new generation of TV products aimed at a broader audience that recognize and celebrate the diversity of the Americans and depict them more realistically on the screen.

Works Cited

Yang, Jeff. “Fresh On The Screen: How TV Is Redefining Whom We Think Of As ‘American’”. National Public Radio, Code Switch: Race and Identity, Remixed.