Fortune Favors The Brave (NBC)

A military drama about protecting Americans overseas. In a world beset by terrorism, two forces combine to safeguard American lives overseas. From her high-tech office at the Defense Intelligence Agency, Deputy Director of Intelligence Patricia Campbell and her analysts, including veterans cultural specialist Noah Morgenthau and mission coordinator Hannah Archer, utilize advanced surveillance technology to guide Special Forces on the ground, including Captain Adam Dalton's squad of highly-trained undercover specialists in accomplishing their mission: saving the lives of innocents and executing missions (and terrorists) in the most dangerous places in the world. As is expected on a program about covert military operations, The Brave contains a large amount of violence, some of it bloody, but all of it in the service of the plot. Terrorists (and sometimes the heroes) are beaten, tortured, bloodied, punched, stabbed, shot, and blown up frequently. While they are not frontline combat troops whose entire purpose is to kill, the team has no qualms about killing enemy combatants and even bystanders if it means fulfilling their mission. Profanity, though infrequent, is also present. There was no sexual content in the first episode, though this may change as more characterization is introduced in later episodes. The Brave is elegant in its simplicity of conception: three intelligence agents setting the agenda, collecting and analyzing information, and passing on their conclusions; and the team with “boots on the ground,” consisting of a team leader, a sniper, a communications expert, a medic, and an infiltrator skilled at posing as the enemy, carrying the mission out through use of deception, stealth, quick thinking, and recourse to violence. While not the most uplifting or inspirational new show, in both concept and execution The Brave is a callback to such shows of the past as Mission: Impossible in showing a team of experts saving innocents and punishing the guilty. Thus, while inappropriate for young children, The Brave may be a solid choice for those seeking traditional action-themed entertainment. The Brave premieres Monday, September 25 at 10:00 p.m. ET on NBC.