Nathan Fillion is killing it in The Rookie. Seven seasons in, the series is still as fresh and snappy as when it first began. Fans are addicted to the fast-paced series filled with a lovable and dynamic cast facing high-stakes drama. And if viewers are finding it harder and harder to wait for the next week’s episode in the period of binge-able content, fans can look to get their fix with another highly emotional, edge-of-your-seat crime drama that is now available for streaming: Flashpoint.
Flashpoint is a Canadian police procedural starring Amy Jo Johnson (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), David Paetkau (Final Destination 2), Jessica Steen (Heartland), and Enrico Colantoni (Just Shoot Me). Inspired by Toronto’s Emergency Task Force, the series follows the specialized police team, Strategic Response Unit, as it answers a series of high-risk emergencies and calls around an unnamed city. Each episode surrounds an emergency crisis through the eyes of the elite SRU team. As the series explores how and why the crisis began, it also notes how such crises create wounds and emotional battles for emergency responders. The series has consistently received high reviews from audiences. And with reviews almost as high as the stakes in this thrilling and fast-paced drama, Flashpoint is a must-watch.
‘Flashpoint’ Is an Underrated Gem in the World of Procedurals
The underrated and dramatic thriller Flashpoint has a pretty solid audience rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. This figure is slightly skewed, though, as the series has very few ratings outside of the first season. While audiences rated the first season an encouraging 78%, the following seasons saw even better reviews but from far fewer reviewers. This suggests that only the staunchest fans continued to rate the series while more casual viewers fell away.
However, both IMDb and Google have far more robust ratings. Audiences, up to the thousands, rated the show and continued on the positivity trend. IMDb reviews of the series have rated the show 7.8 out of 10, while Google audiences gave the show an exceptional 4.7 out of 5.
Viewers called Flashpoint one of the greatest police procedurals of its time. Gripping and brilliant, the series was marked as a refreshing change from the standards of the genre. Viewers noted that the series has endearing characters that are excellently portrayed by the talented cast. Particular notice was given to the series’ attempts to show even the ‘bad guy’ perpetrators in a sympathetic light. The highlighting of the antagonist’s humanity showed a complex and compassionate view of the variety of people and experiences that co-exist in society.
‘Flashpoint’ Provides an Intense Look at the Cost of Heroism
A production of CTV (Canadian Television), Flashpoint ran for five seasons and aired in the US on CBS and ION. The series became the first Canadian show to air in the US and Canada simultaneously. Although the series was confirmed as set in Toronto, the creators intentionally left the setting of the series vague so that it would appeal to a wider audience. “It’s a fresh location…you’re not going to see a show that is screaming ‘Canada,’” executive producer Bill Mustos said at the time, “The stories we’re trying to tell are universal stories.”
Flashpoint was created by husband-and-wife team Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern. Initially conceived as a two-hour movie, the project was later reworked as a television series. The pilot episode, like the initial movie project, was based on a real-life hostage incident that was responded to by the Toronto ETF. Morgenstern and Ellis interviewed members of the EFT team in preparation for writing the script.
Their purpose was to focus not only on the behind-the-scenes actions that led to the event but also the emotional toll left behind. “Each episode has a loose theme of the cost of human heroism,” Morgenstern said of the series. Not only a police procedural, the series explores the emotional baggage and post-traumatic stress disorders that officers can be left with in the wake of emergency response.
Through its series run, Flashpoint was nominated and won a number of awards, including Best Dramatic Series (Gemini Awards), Best Television Drama (WGC Canadian Screenwriting Awards), and Best Direction in a Dramatic Series (Canadian Screen Awards). An intimate and intense look at the behind-the-scenes drama of emergency services, Flashpoint gets to the heart of crime and intervention. Fans of The Rookie should check out this thrilling and emotional series. Flashpoint is available for streaming now on Paramount+. The Rookie is streaming on Hulu.
