Finally, a smart show that's well-acted without using violence, sex or gore to thrill the senses. There're too many TV shows that rely heavily on violence, sex and gore already. And don't even try to compare this to the Americans. Completely different shows with different plots. Only similarity between these shows is the Russian spy theme. I enjoy the Americans for what it is. And I also enjoy Allegiance tremendously for what it is: fun, entertaining, pure enjoyment--an escape to another family's troubles without me biting my nails off each episode. The naysayers will pour acid on this show. But just let go of your inner critic and simply enjoy a show for its pure fun and entertainment. It's rather up-lifting and refreshing, for a change these days, without a heavy theme or excess use of violence and sex. Love this show!

This show isn't as horrible as everyone claims it to be. For anyone who's watched The Americans you'd know that these two shows share absolutely nothing other than the fact that they both contain Russians. It isn't a knockoff of The Americans because they aren't really comparable. As a lover of The Americans I can appreciate the sharp writing and acting in The Americans while still appreciating the fast paced environment of Allegiance. It's most likely just a one season show but it'll definitely be a thrill ride. The pilot episode shows the main characters all involved in doing something while absolutely keeping up the pace, it's definitely soapy, interesting, dramatic, & suspenseful so it has that going for it as well. Allegiance might not be as high quality as The Americans but it knows what it wants to be and how to portray it on screen.

Initially I was very excited about this series because I love the spy genre. This series however is a loser. Writing is very bad. It often doesn't make logical sense or is sometimes just absurd. Some compare this to The Americans because it is also about Russian spies in the US. Allegiance is not in the same class as The Americans. Some of the actors, like Gavin Stenhouse are not ready for prime time, but even the better actors here are made to look bad by the bad writing. The central character Alex played by Gavin Stenhouse is a socially awkward naïve genius CIA analyst who doesn't come off at all as believable and is painful to watch. In a recent episode a romantic relation began with Alex and an attractive colleague. There is zero chemistry between the two. One minute Alex is so naïve and awkward that everyone would bet he's a virgin. The next minute he's James Bond going down on the girl. The whole production is amateurish.

I waited eagerly for each weeks episode and i could not believe it when i was told that the series was cut.. why oh why was this great series cut when lesser series made the cut?

I loved every single one of the cast.. there are very few shows that i have loved all of the main cast and this was one of them.. the story was lovely.. the cast was lovely.. the chemistry was lovely and the acting was good.. hey NBC some winners start out slow thats no reason to cut them.. did you not see the overall rating of the show? bring it back.. Cast of Allegiance you were great individually and as a whole and i love you guys ;_)

I love Allegiance's original and astute writing. I can tell it is going to be one hell of a thrilling ride, with A list New York actor at the helm that will give it just the right authentic feel it needs. The pilot episode was fast paced, dramatic, suspenseful and artfully executed. Allegiance is high quality network TV. Also, I love Cohen and Davis, they are like Bogie and Becall together. And Stenhouse has such a wonderful Sherlock Holmes-like qualities when he is assessing data. I believe Nolfi has a big hit on his hands. Love, Love, Love this show! I don't see any similarities to The Americans other than the fact they are both about Russians.

I agree with a previous comment about the "Mom".... really don't like her AT ALL. It has real potential! So very many shows I like are being zapped, and for what??!?! Reality TV?? Singing, dancing, survivor type crap I can't believe any of my fellow Americans actually WATCH that stuff. Meanwhile, anything interesting, exciting, or "God forbid" challenging gets zapped.

I really hope the below is true!! "I believe this show does it as well as most others but I love the twist with the parents being Russian spies. Yes I know it has been done, The Americans. Before everyone jumps on me I am not saying they are in the same caliber as The Americans, but I think there will be room for this one as well.

"Intelligence Agency TV shows are quickly replacing those gawd awful reality shows and really aren't we all glad for that." !! YES WE ARE!!

I can't even write a coherent review, just a series of observations.

1) The only good actor in the show is the leader of the Chinese gang from "Sons Of Anarchy", who plays a CIA agent here and has actual presence in the scenes.

2) It's painful to watch actors struggle with bad writing, I.E. when someone casually recites their autobiography to another character in unusual detail while it's actually aimed at you, "the dumb viewer".

3) The actors don't behave like worn-out, savvy spies, but rather like the over-emotional, neurotic types from "Grey's Anatomy". Their continuous survival is not believable in the slightest. So the "good guys" are the hand-wringing emotional types. The "villainous" ones act like villain caricatures from a comic book, with the evil smirking and worn-out clichés. There's no subtlety here, and as result, no tension.

4) I grew up in Soviet Union. In "The Americans" show, nearly all "Russians who need to speak Russian" were native speakers, who used natural turn of phrase - and it mattered. Their presence was more natural, even if you do not understand Russian, simply because the actors were being, more or less, themselves. Chances are, most of these actors remember living in USSR.

Wisely, "The Americans" kept its leading actors, who are not speakers, from ever speaking in Russian, and it fit with the plot.

"Allegiance", on the other hand, is mostly filled with actors who are just reading phonetic Russian from cue cards. This is standard fare for American TV and film, but in a show CENTERED around Russian speakers, you really gotta up your game, no?

5) "The Americans" is tense because it takes place at the height of the Cold War. "Allegiance" tries to generate the same tension in modern times, and that doesn't work.

Yes, Russia is not a good place to live. It's got problems with freedom of speech, mafia, corruption, treatment of minorities, and even a degree of tyranny.

HOWEVER - it is not a closed-off system like the USSR. Their Internet isn't self-enclosed and heavily filtered like in North Korea. You can actually travel IN and OUT. The information, more or less, flows freely. There's no more need for tuning into "illegal" Western radio stations to get the truth.

We are NOT in a Cold War - far from it - despite the American administration's continuous bungling of relations with Russia and petulant and hostile behavior toward Putin, all the while they turn around and get cozy with Cuba(!), designated by the U.S. Department Of State as a state sponsor of terrorism - one among 4.

Russia is not among those 4 countries - Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria.

These are different times. The setting doesn't fit reality. This show could've as well been anti-Russian propaganda, sponsored by the Obama administration. State-sponsored television is, after all, a very familiar sight to those of us who grew up in USSR.

6) The ripping-off of "The Americans" isn't a theory, it is fact. The show is based on a premise taken from key plot development from "The Americans" season 2 finale.

It even uses a similar-colored, similar-sized and placed font for Russian translations, so that a person tuning in during the middle of the show, could perchance mistake it for "The Americans" and keep watching.

Ugh.

If you haven't seen Allegiance, you should. I love a good spy thriller and this one fits the bill.

It has a great cast and an intricate storyline. It's well paced and has some interesting plot twists. I suspect not all is as it seems and there will be more surprises along the way.

The pilot did a great job of introducing the characters and their relationships to one another. All the actors played their parts well and were believable, particularly Scott Cohen, Hope Davis, and Gavin Stenhouse.

Eagerly looking forward to see how the story unfolds.

Our family very much enjoyed this show and in my opinion the subtle differences from other shows. We hope that somehow another channel buys it and airs another season- thought the characters were interesting and plot was exciting- we felt the show could have grown. Too many reality and shows the same- at least this network show was a little different than the rest. Junk TV sells I guess but we enjoyed this show..We are not sure of how all the details of ratings go from live watches, to recorded or DVR but it's unfortunate to start something and then leave it hanging. It seems there are so many spots that might be available to run episodes to at least finish the show by either a second season or a small two to three part mini ending would be a neat idea. I feel leaving audiences with cancelled and unfinished shows turns them away. Our family wasn't able with the schedules to watch live, but very much enjoyed the week or two of watching a show each night-

If you are looking at the reviews, you probably like other 'spy' shows such as: Spooks, Homeland, 24, The Americans, Strike Back, Burn Notice, Person of Interest, The Blacklist, or even Archer, and are hoping this would be one of your new favourites - it won't.

This show will insult you as it assumes you to be dumb. A show called Scorpion springs to mind as being an equal insult to the viewer.

As much as I love these kinds of shows, Allegiance doesn't work. It's not smart, believable, nor funny. It's not even unique. It feels more like an attempt to put what makes other shows a success together - only the parts don't fit.

This show is full of stereotypes and clichés, which is only ever a good thing if the show aims to be funny (Burn Notice). It really is as horrible as everyone makes it out to be.

Hate aside, the pilot has exactly one smart moment which I enjoyed a lot - too bad it also reminded me what the show could have been, but sadly is not.

Allegiance takes the same concept found in The Americans and ruins it. This show offers up a stereotypical, biased take on the spy genre. The US is good and virtuous. Russia is evil and out for world domination.Even Edward Snowden, a man who many, including myself, consider a hero, comes in for back handed criticism. There's no room for negotiation with anyone who doesn't tow the official US line, be it domestic or international.

Oh and lets throw in a disturbing scene, reminiscent of Orwell's 1984, where the young lead character emphatically threatens to sell out his loving parents to the "government", for the "greater good".

The only thing saving this series from being a complete wash out is the acting is solid and the fact that there is some genuine interest to be derived from the plot. It would be nice to see a little fairness and objectivity injected into the series. If that happens I may consider reviewing my rating but as it stands, three out of ten from me.

This show is fantastic. It is nothing like the Americans except that there are Russians in the show. It's fast paced, witty, well written, well acted, and expertly directed and produced. It's incredibly engaging. I was hooked from a few minutes into the first episode. The second episode is even better than the first.

Gavin Stenhouse is amazing and totally believable as Alex. Hope Davis and Scott Cohen are equally good. Morgan Spector is a standout, one of the best actors I've seen on TV recently. It's a really interesting premise, and the family dynamics keep you guessing. I can't wait for future episodes.

This is the best show ever! Great writers, great actors and actresses! 50,000 levels higher than Americans. Allegiance focuses more on Alex who is a very interesting character, unlike the Americans which focuses on the husband and wife. This is a great, great, great, great, great, great show ever! I hope they don't kill ANYBODY off like they always do in TV shows! Alex as a character is highly intelligent and yet is funny as a bumbling field operative. It is classy and smart and yet funny at times. Great character development! High brow writing and acting! High level writing and yet still very very entertaining!

I will tell all my friends and family about this TV show!

The show is what you would expect, typical wonder kid who knows it all and those working with him try to keep up with his brilliance. He knows the answer to every mystery and is good-looking, speaks several languages and has a photographic memory where he can recall specific stuff that happened 20 years ago.

Typical cold war stereotypes of Russians but set in today's time. Russia is out to destroy the free United States and the new KGB will resort to mobster tactics to accomplish their goals. The writing is average and the events are reliability predictable.

Not bad if you've got time to kill, but definitely nothing groundbreaking. If you like espionage shows, "The Americans" is a much much better show.

I heard that NBC already canceled this EXCELLENT Allegiance TV series just after 5 episodes!! Pure madness if you ask me. Such a stupid decision demonstrates how stupid and so short-term the people at NBC are. With more time, more viewers would have discovered this excellent TV series.

There is a very good and interesting main story. The actors are nothing short of excellent. In particular, Gavin Stenhouse as Alex O'Connor who, all by himself, really makes this TV series highly interesting in many ways by his excellent acting.

I hope this TV series is continued with several more seasons through Netflix or Amazon because it would be a crime to have it stopped only after 9 episodes.

Here are mostly TV series and a few movies that I highly recommend, as I watched them and enjoyed them a lot.

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There are a few classics in science-fiction TV series:

---Smallville

---Star Trek: Enterprise

---Babylon 5

---Earth: Final Conflict

---Battlestar Galactica

---Star Wars (6 movies so far and counting)

---Jupiter Ascending (a movie)

all deserving 15 out of 10 because they are all very special TV series for the quality of their stories and for the amazing actors that they have. Are these TV series perfect? No, as they sometimes have "filler" episodes that are not too great and they also sometimes have "holes", illogical elements in the main story or in the individual stories of particular episodes. Despite sometimes the presence of these very few shortcomings, these TV series are really unique and special in many ways that you will nevertheless enjoy them greatly.

Other TV series that are excellent but not necessarily science-fiction? Here is my list of other excellent TV series that you will appreciate a lot:

--A few more science-fiction:

---Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome (it is science-fiction)

---Caprica (it is science-fiction)

---Babylon 5: Thirdspace (it is science-fiction)

---Space: Above and Beyond (it is science-fiction)

---Defying Gravity (it is science-fiction)

---The Tomorrow People (it is science-fiction)

---The 100 (it is science-fiction)

---Almost Human (it is science-fiction)

--Non-science fiction:

---24

---24: Live Another Day

---Dexter

---The Vampire Diaries (it is fantasy I could call it)

---Breaking Bad

---Kyle XY (it is slightly science-fiction)

---Nikita

---Damages

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...I love this show,( earnest acting & earnest scriptwriting), but the scripts, a la 'Breaking Bad' require a certain amount of investment in time, as they are very intricately written. Despite that it is a suitable replacement for suspense addicts(a la breaking bad)& a good introductory primer on the inner workings of "KGB-like' SOviet intelligence agency apparatchik. ALso, unlike 'Madame Secretary', w/ tea Leoni,you could even imagine this family living in your neighborhood. I also like to watch shows w/ unknown actors, a la Anna Gunn('Skyler WHite'of BB),instead of the usualHollywood A- listers,.....all in all, villainy always makes for a good show, the more villains the better. THE final act? hopefully, a second season for a great show.....

Alex can fly out from industrial complexes surrounded by police, and create a car out of nothing, and 200 other unexplained things.

And stupid operatives that leave a laptop on the kitchen counter, for no reason, other than that they need to retrieve it.....it's 4 pounds was probably too heavy.

Killing people for no obvious gain is also needed it seems like.

A CIA anaylyst that had a KGB-general as grandfather is of course a trusted one...

This is a great show if you like smart, well acted cop drama that tackles real issues. Characters are relatable. Story line is real and not the usual stereotypes. We'll done GEM.

I live in Surrey and know the real scene here. Allegiance shows the real racial mix, the harder social conditions of our community, but also the beauty and good heart of this place.

I also am impressed with the way Allegiance is approaching the race, gender, sexual orientation issues in all their many dimensions. Too often shows use these issues to seem relevant but pain with too broad a brush. Not this one. Nuanced and real. Let's keep this one going.