History Series / PersonOfInterest

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Person-of-Interest-Emerson-Caviezel_7760.jpg]]

* Sameen Shaw (Creator/SarahShahi), a DistaffCounterpart to Reese.

Rounding out the cast of [[VillainOfTheWeek weekly rogues]] and "[[WeHelpTheHelpless irrelevant numbers]]" is an ensemble of recurring characters, many of whom are important to the longer {{story arc}}s:

->''"You are being watched. The government has a secret system, a machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it. I designed The Machine to detect acts of terror, but it sees everything. Violent crimes involving ordinary people, people like you. Crimes the government considered "irrelevant". They wouldn't act, so I decided I would. But I needed a partner, someone with the skills to intervene. Hunted by the authorities, we work in secret. You'll never find us, but victim or perpetrator, if your number's up... we'll find ''you''."''

[[/index]]

->''You are being watched. The government has a secret system, a machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it. I designed the machine to detect acts of terror but it sees everything. Violent crimes involving ordinary people, people like you. Crimes the government considered "irrelevant." They wouldn't act, so I decided I would. But I needed a partner, someone with the skills to intervene. Hunted by the authorities, we work in secret. You'll never find us, but victim or perpetrator, if your number's up... we'll find ''you.

''Person of Interest'' is a science fiction action-thriller TV series that started airing in September 2011 on CBS. It was created by Creator/JonathanNolan and developed along with Creator/JJAbrams and Bryan Burk. Prior to airing, it was much-hyped for the strong pedigree of cast and crew, and later the pilot received positive reviews. The show aired five complete seasons, wrapping on June 21, 2016.

John Reese (Creator/JimCaviezel) is a former CIA agent, reduced to living rough as a drunk homeless man in New York City after a falling-out with the United States government. He's bailed out of trouble with the NYPD by a mysterious billionaire named Mr. Finch (Creator/MichaelEmerson), who has a strange and potentially-dangerous job offer. As it turns out, Finch is a software genius who designed the government supercomputer--"The Machine"--that monitors all surveillance data, analyzing and filtering for persons involved in potential threats to national security. When The Machine identifies one of these persons, it transmits the individual's Social Security number to the government.

As a side effect, The Machine also spits out "irrelevant" numbers that correspond to someone that it predicts will soon be involved in a violent crime which is not relevant to national security. To help these potential victims (or to stop these potential killers, as the case may be), Finch hires Reese and together, they use their collective skills and resources [[WeHelpTheHelpless to help innocent people]]. Along the way, they cross paths with Detective Joss Carter (Creator/TarajiPHenson), who is at first an antagonist, investigating a number of violent incidents involving a mysterious "[[BadassInANiceSuit man in a suit]]" (Reese), but who later begins cooperating with Reese and Finch.

Rounding out the cast of [[VillainOfTheWeek weekly rogues]] and [[WeHelpTheHelpless "irrelevant numbers"]] is an ensemble of recurring characters, many of whom are important to the longer [[StoryArc story arcs]]:
* Detective Lionel Fusco (Creator/KevinChapman), a former DirtyCop trying to [[TheAtoner redeem himself]] by working with Reese and Finch.

* "Root" A.K.A. Samantha Groves (Creator/AmyAcker), a [[TheCracker master hacker]] obsessed with The Machine who becomes its "analog interface."
* Grace Hendricks, Finch's former fiancee, who believes he is dead.

* Decima Technologies, a shadowy private intelligence organization based in China which tries to control The Machine.

* "Harper Rose," a skilled grifter.

''Person of Interest'' is a science fiction action-thriller TV series that started airing in September 2011 on CBS. It was created by Creator/JonathanNolan and developed along with Creator/JJAbrams and Bryan Burk. Prior to airing, it was much-hyped for the strong pedigree of cast and crew, and later the pilot received positive reviews. The show has thus far aired four complete seasons, with a fifth and final 13-episode season wrapping on June 21, 2016.

''Person of Interest'' is a science fiction action-thriller TV series that started airing in September 2011 on CBS. It was created by Creator/JonathanNolan and developed along with Creator/JJAbrams and Bryan Burk. Prior to airing, it was much-hyped for the strong pedigree of cast and crew, and later the pilot received positive reviews. The show has thus far aired four complete seasons, with a fifth and final 13-episode season currently airing, with the series finale scheduled for June 21, 2016.

''Person of Interest'' is a science fiction action-thriller TV series that started airing in September 2011 on CBS. It was created by [[Film/{{Memento}} Jonathan]] [[Film/TheDarkKnightSaga Nolan]] and developed along with Creator/JJAbrams and Bryan Burk. Prior to airing, it was much-hyped for the strong pedigree of cast and crew, and later the pilot received positive reviews. The show has thus far aired four complete seasons, with a fifth and final 13-episode season currently airing, with the series finale scheduled for June 21, 2016.

->''"You are being watched. The government has a secret system, a machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it. I designed the machine to detect acts of terror but it sees everything. Violent crimes involving ordinary people, people like you. Crimes the government considered "irrelevant." They wouldn't act, so I decided I would. But I needed a partner, someone with the skills to intervene. Hunted by the authorities, we work in secret. You'll never find us, but victim or perpetrator, if your number's up... we'll find'' you."
-->-- '''Mr. Finch''', Season One intro

''Person of Interest'' is a science fiction action-thriller TV series that started airing in September 2011 on CBS. It was created by [[Film/{{Memento}} Jonathan]] [[Film/TheDarkKnightSaga Nolan]] and developed along with Creator/JJAbrams and Bryan Burk. Prior to airing, it was much-hyped for the strong pedigree of cast and crew, and later the pilot received positive reviews. The show has thus far aired four complete seasons, with a fifth and final 13-episode season filmed, to begin airing in May with the series finale scheduled for June 21, 2016.

* "Root" A.K.A. Samantha Groves (Creator/AmyAcker), a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] [[TheCracker master hacker]] obsessed with The Machine who becomes its "analog interface."

''Person of Interest'' is a science fiction action-thriller TV series that started airing in September 2011 on CBS. It was created by [[Film/{{Memento}} Jonathan]] [[Film/TheDarkKnightSaga Nolan]] and developed along with Creator/JJAbrams and Bryan Burk. Prior to airing, it was much-hyped for the strong pedigree of cast and crew, and later the pilot received positive reviews. The show has thus far aired four complete seasons, with a fifth and final 13-episode season filmed. CBS has however not yet revealed any plans to air it.

''Person of Interest'' is a science fiction action-thriller TV series that started airing in September 2011 on CBS. It was created by [[Film/{{Memento}} Jonathan]] [[Film/TheDarkKnightSaga Nolan]] and developed along with Creator/JJAbrams and Bryan Burk. Prior to airing, it was much-hyped for the strong pedigree of cast and crew, and later the pilot received positive reviews. The show has thus far aired four complete seasons, with a fifth and (possible) final 13-episode season planned.

[[caption-width-right:350:[-For once, you'll be glad that BigBrotherIsWatching...-] ]]

As a side effect, The Machine also spits out "irrelevant" numbers that correspond to someone that it predicts will soon be involved in a violent crime which is not relevant to national security. To help these potential victims (or to stop these potential killers, as the case may be), Finch hires Reese and together, they use their collective skills and resources [[WeHelpTheHelpless to help innocent people]]. Along the way, they cross paths with Detective Joss Carter (Creator/TarajiPHenson), who is at first an antagonist, investigating number of violent incidents involving a mysterious "[[BadassInANiceSuit man in a suit]]" (Reese), but who later begins cooperating with Reese and Finch.

* Carl Elias, an elusive mob boss and master criminal, [[WouldHurtAChild ruthless]] yet also [[EvenEvilHasStandards honorable]], whose [[TheChessmaster conspiracies and criminal enterprises]] have generated several [=POI=] numbers [[spoiler:including Elias himself]].

* Decima Technologies, a shadowy private intelligence organization based in China which first tries to control The Machine, and, when that fails, [[spoiler: brings into being a rival AI called Samaritan]].

* The Brotherhood, a tech-savvy street gang that moves to take over the drug trade in New York [[spoiler: in the wake of the destruction of HR and the neutralization of the Russians in Season 3]].
* "Harper Rose," a skilled grifter who ends up [[spoiler: working for The Machine without even realizing it]].

''Person of Interest'' is a science fiction action-thriller TV series that started airing in September 2011 on CBS. It was created by [[Film/{{Memento}} Jonathan]] [[Film/TheDarkKnightSaga Nolan]] and developed along with Creator/JJAbrams and Bryan Burk. Prior to airing, it was much-hyped for the strong pedigree of cast and crew, and later the pilot received positive reviews. The show has thus far aired four complete seasons, with a fifth and final 13-episode season planned.

* [[TeamPet Bear]], a trained military dog.
* Sameen Shaw (Creator/SarahShahi), a DistaffCounterpart to Reese.
* "Root" A.K.A. Samantha Groves (Creator/AmyAcker), a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] [[TheCracker master hacker]] obsessed with The Machine who becomes its "analog interface."

* Grace Hendricks, Finch's former fiancee, who believes he is dead.
* Leon Tao, an accountant with [[TooDumbToLive a penchant for getting into trouble]].