The Code (American TV series)

The Code is an American military drama television series created by Craig Sweeny and Craig Turk. The military legal drama was ordered to series on May 11, 2018 by CBS. The series premiered on April 9, 2019. In July 2019, CBS canceled the series after one season.[1]

The Code
Title Card
Genre	Military Legal drama
Created by	Craig Sweeny Craig Turk
Starring	Luke Mitchell Dana Delany Anna Wood Ato Essandoh Raffi Barsoumian Phillipa Soo
Composer	Adam Samuel Goldman
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Craig Sweeny Craig Turk Carl Beverly Sarah Timberman Marc Webb
Production locations	Atlanta, Georgia, Los Angeles, California
Production companies	Action This Day! Timberman-Beverly Productions Black Lamb CBS Television Studios
Distributor	CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network	CBS
Picture format	1080i (HDTV)
Original release	April 9 – July 22, 2019
External links
Website

Premise

The Code takes place as the "United States Military's brightest minds take on America's toughest challenges inside the courtroom and out, where each attorney is trained as a prosecutor, a defense lawyer, an investigator—and a Marine."

Cast

• Luke Mitchell as Captain John "Abe" Abraham, a third-generation Marine Infantry Officer who was wounded while serving in Afghanistan and became an attorney after being deemed medically unfit to serve in direct combat. He is a member of Marine Corps Base Quantico's Trial Services (prosecutor's) Office.
• Anna Wood as Captain Maya Dobbins,[2] an eight-year veteran Marine and member of the Defense Services Office at MCB Quantico. She is from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where her older brother Matt is running for election to the North Carolina State Senate. When his mental health issues force him to drop out of the race, the national political party asked Maya to run in his place, which she declined as she felt she wasn't yet ready to leave the Corps for political office, although that remains her long-term goal.
• Ato Essandoh as Major Trey Ferry,[2] originally Captain Abraham's immediate supervisor in the Trial Services Office until he became Senior Defense Counsel halfway through the season. He and his wife, Nona, have struggled for years to conceive a child, undergoing IVF treatments. In "Don and Doff", he and Nona learn they are having twins, but she miscarries shortly thereafter, leaving them heartbroken.
• Raffi Barsoumian as Warrant Officer Rami Ahmadi,[3] MCB Quantico's invaluable Legal Administrative Officer with almost nine years of service. A native of Dearborn, Michigan, Rami enlisted in the Marines as a path to become a United States citizen; on the eve of his citizenship test, Rami decided to protest the suspension of the MAVNI program, which caused him to be temporarily reassigned to the United States Marine Corps Training and Education Command until his friends convinced him to take the test lest he languish the rest of his career in a glorified rubber room. In "Legit Bad Day", Rami officially becomes a US citizen. He has been married for four years and has a daughter.
• Phillipa Soo as 1st Lieutenant Harper Li,[4] a young Marine nine months out of Officer Candidate School, assigned to Captain Abraham as his second chair. A native of San Francisco and a graduate of Stanford University and Stanford Law School, Harper comes from a family of litigators who view her joining the Marine Corps as "backpacking through Europe after law school". While on a fact-finding mission overseas, Harper finds herself in combat for the first time alongside a group of MARSOC Raiders, during which she earns a Bronze Star with Combat "V" after taking command upon the death of the platoon commander. In "Legit Bad Day", Harper leaves for SERE School for six weeks.
• Dana Delany as Colonel Glenn Turnbull, who oversees the attorneys and helps them navigate the politics surrounding the legal system. Colonel Turnbull is married to a former Marine, now in the private sector, although they are separated; they share a son, Adam, who is a 24-year-old 1st Lieutenant. In "Legit Bad Day", she mentions that she is a third-generation Marine and her grandfather was killed during the Battle of Belleau Wood during World War I. In "Don and Doff", she learned that she was a candidate for promotion to Brigadier General.

Production

Development

On February 2, 2018, it was announced that CBS had given the production a pilot order.[5] The pilot script was set to be written by Craig Sweeny who was also set as an executive producer along with Craig Turk, Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman. Production companies involved with the pilot include CBS Television Studios and Timberman-Beverly Productions. On February 9, 2018, it was reported that Marc Webb would direct the pilot episode.[6]

On May 11, 2018, it was announced that CBS had given the production a series order. A few days later, it was announced that the series would premiere in the spring of 2019 as a mid-season replacement. On January 15, 2019, it was announced that the series would be held back from mid-season with a premiere date of April 9, 2019.[7] While the pilot aired on a Tuesday at 9 PM, all subsequent episodes aired weekly on Mondays during the 9 PM time slot. On July 23, 2019, CBS canceled the series after one season.[1]

Casting

In the original pilot, Dave Annable and Mira Sorvino were cast as the series' male lead[8] and a major co-starring role,[9] respectively. When 'The Code' was picked up,[10][11] Australian actor Luke Mitchell took over the role of Captain John "Abe" Abraham from Annable,[12] while Dana Delany took over Sorvino's role as Colonel Glenn (originally named Eisa) Turnbull.[13]

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date [14]	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Blowed Up"	Marc Webb	Story by : Craig Turk & Craig Sweeny Teleplay by : Craig Sweeny	April 9, 2019	8.13[15]
2	"P.O.G."	Guy Ferland	Craig Sweeny	April 15, 2019	4.45[16]
3	"Molly Marine"	Holly Dale	Kendall Sherwood	April 22, 2019	4.60[17]
4	"Back on the Block"	Steve Adelson	Mimi Won Tetjemtom	April 29, 2019	4.41[18]
5	"Maggie's Drawers"	John Polson	Nathan Alexander	May 6, 2019	4.07[19]
6	"1st Civ Div"	John Behring	Josh Fialkov	May 13, 2019	5.54[20]
7	"Above the Knee"	Thomas Carter	Anthony Swofford	May 20, 2019	4.97[21]
8	"Lioness"	Jann Turner	Hope Mastras	June 3, 2019	4.63[22]
9	"Smoke-Pit"	Ron Fortunato	Kaycee Felton-Lui	July 1, 2019	3.98[23]
10	"Secret Squirrel"	Sarah Boyd	Jovan Robinson	July 8, 2019	3.85[24]
11	"Don and Doff"	Eric Laneuville	Michael Angeli	July 15, 2019	3.25[25]
12	"Legit Bad Day"	Craig Sweeny	Craig Sweeny	July 22, 2019	2.91[26]

Home media

The full complete series was released on DVD as for CBS Home Entertainment on June 30, 2020.[27]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 30% based on reviews from 10 critics, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Despite its pedigree, The Code does little to differentiate itself in a crowded field."[28] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on reviews from five critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[29]

Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times called it "consistently diverting" and described it as : "like JAG but in the Marines with a pleasing hint of The Good Wife".[30] Daniel D'Addario of Variety gave a mixed review and called the show deeply familiar, and said it made NCIS look great by comparison.[31] Dan Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter called it a "thoroughly average procedural" and compared the show unfavorably to the film A Few Good Men.[32] Others criticized the show for technical inaccuracies.[33]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of The Code

No.	Title	Air date	Rating/share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Blowed Up"	April 9, 2019	0.7/3	8.13[15]	0.3	2.57	1.0	10.71[34]
2	"P.O.G."	April 15, 2019	0.5/3	4.45[16]	0.3	2.04	0.8	6.49[35]
3	"Molly Marine"	April 22, 2019	0.6/3	4.60[17]	0.2	2.10	0.8	6.70[36]
4	"Back on the Block"	April 29, 2019	0.5/2	4.41[18]	N/A	2.00	N/A	6.42[37]
5	"Maggie's Drawers"	May 6, 2019	0.5/2	4.07[19]	0.2	1.91	0.7	5.99[38]
6	"1st Civ Div"	May 13, 2019	0.6/3	5.54[20]	0.2	1.79	0.8	7.33[39]
7	"Above the Knee"	May 20, 2019	0.7/3	4.97[21]	0.2	1.74	0.8	6.46[40]
8	"Lioness"	June 3, 2019	0.5/3	4.63[22]	0.3	1.97	0.8	6.60[41]
9	"Smoke-Pit"	July 1, 2019	0.4/2	3.98[23]	0.2	1.88	0.6	5.87[42]
10	"Secret Squirrel"	July 8, 2019	0.4/2	3.85[24]	0.2	1.84	0.6	5.69[43]
11	"Don and Doff"	July 15, 2019	0.3/2	3.25[25]	0.2	1.70	0.5	4.95[44]
12	"Legit Bad Day"	July 22, 2019	0.3/2	2.91[26]	0.2	1.36	0.5	4.27[45]

See also

• JAG (TV series)
• Uniform Code of Military Justice
• List of United States Marine Corps acronyms and expressions

References

1. Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (July 23, 2019). "'The Code' Canceled By CBS After One Season". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
2. Andreeva, Nellie (March 14, 2018). "'The Code': Anna Wood & Ato Essandoh To Star In CBS Drama Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
3. Petski, Denise (March 17, 2018). "'In Between Lives' Casts Anne-Marie Johnson; Raffi Barsoumian Cracks 'The Code'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
4. Petski, Denise (February 20, 2018). "'The Code' CBS Pilot Casts Phillipa Soo; David Zayas Joins ABC's 'Staties'". Deadline Hollywood.
5. Andreeva, Nellie (February 2, 2018). "'L.A. Confidential', Eric Holder-Inspired 'Main Justice' Among 4 CBS Drama Pilots From Top Producers". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
6. Andreeva, Nellie (February 9, 2018). "Marc Webb To Direct CBS Drama Pilot 'The Code'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
7. Petski, Denise (January 15, 2019). "'The Code', 'The Red Line', 'Ransom' Drama Series Get Midseason Premiere Dates On CBS". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
8. Andreeva, Nellie (March 13, 2018). "'The Code': Dave Annable To Topline CBS Drama Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
9. Andreeva, Nellie (March 19, 2018). "'The Code': Mira Sorvino To Star In CBS Drama Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
10. Andreeva, Nellie (May 11, 2018). "'The Code' Drama Picked Up To Series By CBS With 2 Major Roles Getting Recast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
11. Andreeva, Nellie (May 21, 2018). "Inspiring Dave Annable Post Sheds Light On Agony Of Network Series Recastings". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
12. Burke, Tina (August 17, 2018). "Home and Away's Luke Mitchell scores the lead in CBS drama 'The Code'". TV Week. Archived from the original on August 23, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
13. Andreeva, Nellie (August 22, 2018). "'The Code: Dana Delany To Co-Star On CBS Drama Series In Recasting". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 23, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
14. "CODE, THE (CBS)". The Futon Critic. May 22, 2019.
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External links

• The Code at IMDb