After trailing the experiences of four Class of ’09 agents across three pivotal epochs in their lives, the series created by Tom Rob Smith ended on a note that has left fans speculating about the future of Tayo (played by Brian Tyree Henry), Poet (portrayed by Kate Mara), Lennix (interpreted by Brian J. Smith), and Hour (acted by Sepideh Moafi).
In transitioning its characters and audience from the intensity of FBI training to real-world scenarios, this FX’s thrilling series on Hulu underscored the devastating effects of an AI-driven system on the U.S. judicial and criminal sector and the lives of the four agents. The final episode, titled “Graduation,” delivered a climactic face-off and some much-awaited resolution, with a window left open specifically in Poet’s narrative for more tales to be told from Quantico.
So, does a second season of Class of ’09 loom on Hulu? What was the fate of Class of ’09 Season 1? Here’s all the information we have on what lies ahead for this FX on Hulu production.
Is There Going to be a Season 2 of ‘Class of ’09’ on Hulu?
The show, Class of ’09, was unveiled by FX as a limited series, implying that creator Tom Rob Smith had intended to narrate the story of Tayo, Poet, Lennix, and Hour within the scope of the currently available eight episodes.
While it’s tough to part ways with the Class of ’09’s ingenious cluster of Quantico graduates just yet, and a second season featuring Poet as the new FBI mentor training the Class of 2034 at Quantico and solving crimes with her team could have been an intriguing prospect, a show representative has affirmed that there are no plans for a second season, hence, Class of ’09 will maintain its limited series status.
Despite the chances of a sequel being slim, at least the last episode, “Graduation,” served as a fitting conclusion to the series. Let’s take a look back, shall we?
Decoding the Finale of ‘Class of ‘09’: Episode 8 Recap
As dissected in the Decider’s analysis of the Class of ‘09 finale, the concluding episode initiates with Tayo reminiscing about the invasion of his home. He confides in Poet that his motivation for joining the Bureau was the murder of his father, and he suspects that he might be the next target. After exploiting the system to gather information on the individual tasked with assassinating Tayo, he confronts the FBI director to uncover the person behind the plot. The director, about to step down, suggests Tayo should leave too. However, as revealed in the future timeline, Tayo disobeys and later ascends to the position of FBI director. The finale discloses that Tayo’s privilege to retain the system was contingent on complying with a list of exemptions – individuals immune from being suspected, such as spies, diplomats, and the president.
Tayo’s acceptance of the promotion represented a severe moral failing, leading to the collapse of his relationship with Vivienne and causing a rift between Hour and Poet. Hour voiced her apprehensions regarding the existing AI system, asserting that it was intended as a tool to assist agents in making improved decisions, not to supplant them. She urged Poet to dissuade Tayo from installing the system, but Poet backed his decision to roll it out (with exceptions) nationwide. Though crime initially decreased, by 2030, arrests soared – not for committed crimes, but for predicted offenses. The system’s prognostications resulted in a surge of wrongful arrests, propelling people to relocate to less monitored rural areas, including a reconciled Tayo and Vivienne.
Fast forward to 2034, the system advocates for the arrest of Vivienne due to a book she is authoring that comprises anti-AI narratives, with Director Warren greenlighting the action. As the group scrambles to devise a plan, Hour suggests that Tayo could help them infiltrate the original data center to emit an EMP pulse, shut down the servers, and rewrite the code so it can’t be modified, as per Amos’s recommendation before his death. The overarching strategy is to eradicate the exemptions Tayo once agreed to, ensuring everyone is treated equally under the law. The Class of ’09 graduates bank on the notion that those in power won’t risk their accountability, opting to shut down the system themselves. Their gamble pays off! When Tayo informs Warren that it’s either an unbiased system or none at all, the system is finally disabled. Power is restored to the people, and all predictive arrests and cases based on the system’s assumptions are instantly invalidated, liberating Vivienne and the group.
As the series wraps up, Tayo insists in an interview that he aimed to transform the country’s “overwhelmingly biased law enforcement system into one that mirrored equality,” but instead inadvertently introduced a system that flagged every human as a suspect. Many believe that the bed I built at the Bureau was wrong, but for the first time in history, people from all walks of life found themselves on the same side of America’s justice system together. And that’s a start,” he concludes. And, as stated before, Poet is back at Quantico, guiding the Class of 2034 through one of the most tumultuous periods in FBI history.
While we won’t be witnessing Poet and the Class of ’09 agents embark on fresh missions, Class Of ’09 is readily available for streaming on Hulu for those eager to revisit the series.