TV Show review
Review basis: 2 seasons, 26 episodes · through June 30, 2018
February 27, 2017 · 42 min · TV-14 · Canceled
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The TV show follows young Bryan Mills, a former Green Beret played by Clive Standen, after his sister is killed. He seeks revenge on a cartel boss and joins a secret US intelligence team where he uses his combat and rescue skills on missions. The story is a present-day origin tale based on the Taken movies, with action, revenge, and covert operations across two seasons. It includes a diverse supporting team and a female handler but focuses on standard thriller plots involving cartels, traffickers, and foreign threats with no strong identity or activist messaging.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Taken.
Woke representation / casting
Visible diversity appears in the supporting action team with multiple Black and Latina actors in season 1 and season 2 roles plus a female authority figure. The central hero stays a skilled straight white male lead focused on traditional combat and rescue. Patterns exist but receive no heavy story or marketing emphasis.
Woke political dialogue
Dialogue stays standard for action and spy thrillers. No audience-visible activist, identity, or social-justice lectures appear in plot summaries or reviews.
Identity-driven story themes
Core narrative follows personal tragedy, revenge, skill development, and team missions against cartels, traffickers, and foreign threats. Trafficking and migrant elements function as plot devices rather than thematic messaging.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The show shows some intel agency bureaucracy and off-the-books operations. Focus stays on external threats like cartels and terrorists rather than modern critiques of Western culture, patriarchy, or institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Almost none found. One isolated viewer note on season 2 feeling political with no broader complaints about DEI, identity politics, or agenda in coverage or social media.
Creator track record context
Alexander Cary brings military and counter-terrorism background from shows like Homeland. Stored profiles for Greg Plageman and others show low activist records. Most other creatives have standard TV credits without strong identity-driven patterns.
Production
