Nikita Information

Nikita is an American television series that has aired on The CW Television Network since September 9, 2010 in the United States. Based on the French film Nikita (1990), the remake Point of No Return (1993), and a previous series La Femme Nikita (1997"2001), the series focuses on Nikita (Maggie Q), a woman who escaped from a secret government-funded organization known as Division and, after a three-year hiding period, is back to bring down the organization. The main cast also includes Lyndsy Fonseca, Shane West, Aaron Stanford, Melinda Clarke, Noah Bean, Dillon Casey and Devon Sawa.

Premise

The show centers on a secret government-funded organization known as Division. Recruiting young people with troubled backgrounds, sometimes directly from prison, Division erases all evidence of their past lives and molds them into efficient spies and assassins. The recruits generally do not have the freedom to leave the agency. While in the previous season, recruits are warned they may be "cancelled" (killed) if their progress is deemed unsatisfactory, in the new series, Division also implants in them tracking devices along with kill chips. Having broken away from the government, Division now performs operations for their own gain, hurting their country if need be. However, Nikita, a Division agent, has gone rogue after her civilian fiancé is killed by Division. She makes it her mission to bring down Division.

On the outside, she trains a woman named Alex, who then becomes a recruit inside Division, working as a mole for her mentor. Having trained Nikita, Michael, a Division operative, is ordered by his boss and Division's leader, Percy, to deal with his former student. In the meantime, Division continues training its recruits and performing operations unaware of Nikita's mole. Over the course of Season one, Nikita goes up against Division, as well as Gogol"?a Russian security department and established enemy of Division"?on many occasions. She is consistently supported by Alex's intelligence from inside and she slowly brings other allies to her side, including Michael when he realizes the true extent of Percy's corruption as well as his own feelings for Nikita. At the end of Season one, Nikita and Michael set off on their own without Alex; having turned on Nikita after learning of her role in her father's death, Alex is exposed and left at the mercy of Division and Oversight"?the government group that controls Division.

In season two, Nikita and Michael press their efforts against Oversight, seeking to destroy the group, which will also cripple Division at the same time. In the ever-changing landscape of events it is seen that, despite many turns and personal discoveries, their feelings for each other remain both deep and constant. Nikita gradually brings her old allies and teammates back together to actively fight Division which is now under Amanda's control. She was placed in charge after Percy was locked away for his actions in season one.

Cast and characters

See List of Nikita characters for more information

The series borrows many characters, or at least their names, from the 1997 television series La Femme Nikita. Maggie Q portrays Nikita, the protagonist and a former spy and assassin who has gone rogue and now plans to bring down Division. Q also performs her own stunts. Shane West plays Michael, a Division operative who trained Nikita. He sees Division and its recruits as a kind of family to him, the complete opposite of Amanda, portrayed by Melinda Clarke, Division's psychologist, interrogator, and a master manipulator. Seymour Birkhoff, Division's computer genius and head technician, is portrayed by Aaron Stanford. The head of Division is Percy, played by Xander Berkeley.

In the season one finale, the audience is introduced to a Senator Madeline Pierce, played by Alberta Watson, who also played the part of Madeline in the former La Femme Nikita series (Madeline was that series' counterpart to Amanda). Lyndsy Fonseca portrays Alexandra "Alex" Udinov, a former sex slave and drug addict who was arrested after a robbery and later became Division's newest recruit. She is also a mole that Nikita is using to destroy Division from the inside. Other recruits include Jaden (Tiffany Hines) and Thom (Ashton Holmes) but their characters are later killed off by Nathan (Thad Luckinbill) and Alex respectively. Dillon Casey portrays the role of Sean Pierce, a former Navy Seal sent to Division directly from Oversight. Noah Bean portrays Ryan Fletcher, an agent in the CIA.

Main cast

• Maggie Q as Nikita Mears: The shows protagonist and titular character, Nikita is a spy and assassin who has vowed to destroy the secret agency that trained her.
• Lyndsy Fonseca as Alex Udinov: The young woman Nikita rescued and trained to take down Division, as well to seek revenge, since Division carried out the massacre of the Udinov family. Sean's current love interest.
• Shane West as Michael: An ex-Division agent who has fallen in love and joined forces with Nikita in order to take down his former employers, who lied to him.
• Aaron Stanford as Seymour Birkhoff: A computer genius and nonconformist.
• Melinda Clarke as Amanda: The shows main antagonist, Amanda is a master manipulator, interrogator, and psychologist as well as a former Head of Division.
• Devon Sawa as Owen Elliot (Recurring seasons 1"2; Series regular season 3): A former Division cleaner and Guardian who worked with Nikita and partly Gogol to get the Black Boxes.
• Noah Bean as Ryan Fletcher (Recurring seasons 1"2; Series regular season 3): A CIA agent and analyst who is an ally of Nikita and the current Head of Division as of the season 2 finale.
• Dillon Casey as Sean Pierce (Series regular season 2"present): A former Navy Seal hired by Oversight to keep an eye on Division and Alex's current love interest.

Former cast

• Ashton Holmes as Thom (season 1, episodes 1"12): A Division assassin, killed by Alex and framed as Nikita's mole.
• Tiffany Hines as Jaden (season 1, episodes 1"20): A Division assassin who regularly clashed with Alex, killed by Nathan after trying to kill Alex.
• Xander Berkeley as Percival "Percy" Rose (season 1"2): Former Head of Division, killed by Nikita.
• Peter Outerbridge as Ari Tasarov (season 1, 2, 3, episodes 1-14): Former Head of GOGOL, a Russian Division counterpart, killed by Amanda.

Recurring cast

• Lyndie Greenwood as Sonya (Season 2"present): The head technician at Division since Birkhoff's leave, romantic interest of Birkhoff.

Notable guest stars

• Cameron Daddo as Charles Grayson: the President of the United States, succeeded by Spencer in Season 3.
• Michelle Nolden as Kathleen Spencer: the Vice President of the United States, later succeeded Charles Grayson as President in Season 3.

Series overview

Season 1: 2010"2011

At the beginning of season one, two people break into a drug store and attempt to rob it. While stealing the drugs and trying to make a get-away, the owner challenges one of the robbers. When this robber hesitates in shooting the owner of the store, their partner doubles back to shoot him before quickly running off, leaving the remaining individual to be arrested when the police show up. Once the police arrive, they pull off the individual's mask and discover that the robber is a young female who is revealed to be Alex. As she is being brought into prison, she fights the prison guards with good strength; she does not know that Michael, a Division operative, is watching. He later processses her into Division, a covert unit of the government that has gone rogue. Division recruits young and susceptible criminals into their training program and forces them to carry out their missions under penalty of death. The higher-up members of Division are worried because Nikita has come back online, meaning that she is targeting Division from the outside. What is worse is that she has a mole inside; however at this point in the show no one in Division is aware of it. By the end of the first episode, it is revealed that this mole is in fact Alex. Halfway through the season it is revealed that the second robber in the drug store was Nikita and that the robbery was set-up specifically to attract Division's attention so that they would recruit Alex. The two communicate through a chat program Nikita created while still at Division called the shellbox program.

As the series progresses, Nikita routinely sabotages missions that would have been major successes for Division and also saves the lives of recruits such as Sarah. More light is shed on the lives of the main characters through flashbacks, and it is revealed that Alex was sold into sex trafficking by a man who had been close to her oligarch father before his murder at the hands of Division.

Eventually, Michael joins Nikita's cause after she helps him find Kasim Tariq. He tells her a story of how he had once found the perfect home for his now-deceased wife and daughter. Tariq took that away from him when he killed both of them.

Alex is forced to kill her rival, Jaden, after Nathan (Alex's neighbor and love interest) accidentally reveals in front of her that Alex has told him of her true occupation as an assassin. Back at Division Amanda tells Alex that Division now operates with new cochlear implants that are virtually undetectable by even the wearers, and Jaden's implant recorded Alex calling Nikita shortly after she killed Jaden. It is at this time that Alex is found out as the mole inside Division and is thus interrogated. It is revealed that Alex's family was killed by a Division strike team, and that Nikita was the agent who killed her father. This revelation turns Alex against Nikita. Michael is locked away in Division as well after attempting to help Alex escape.

Michael escapes courtesy of Birkhoff (Division's head technician) and joins Nikita who had just escaped from the CIA headquarters. As the season ends, it is shown that Amanda has disabled Alex's killchip, and wants to recruit her into Oversight (Division's leadership and funding stream). Michael and Nikita try not to worry about the future as they drive off into the oncoming storm.

Season 2: 2011"2012

At the end of season one, Nikita and Alex's relationship had been shattered, while Nikita and Michael's relationship was restored. Now, Nikita and Michael are on the run with a hard drive called "the black box" containing the Division's darkest secrets and conspiracies which include 6 agents of the government dirty secrets. Together, they plan to right the wrongs that Division has committed over the years, one mission at a time. But leading the hunt for the black box this time is Alex who knows all of Nikita's tricks.

Season 3: 2012"2013

Division is now officially under government control and under the leadership of Ryan Fletcher, tasked with hunting down rogue agents, nicknamed the "Dirty Thirty", who refused the recall order, as well discover the mysterious group Percy was seeking to join.

Episodes

Season		Episodes	Air date		DVD release date
			Season premiere	Season finale	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
	1	22
	2	23
	3	22

Production

Conception

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The CW had long been interested in an action-adventure series centered on a strong female character. On January 27, 2010, The CW ordered a pilot episode of Nikita. The 2010 television series is more closely tied to Luc Besson's 1990 French film Nikita than the 1997 television series, La Femme Nikita. However, the series does borrow many characters, or at least character names, from the previous television series.

Development

During the 2010 Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles on July 29, 2010, executive producer Craig Silverstein said he was approached by Warner Bros. who owned the rights. Silverstein said, "My first thought was I love Nikita. My second thought was, 'it's been done.' Could it be done fresh? Could we have a take where you didn't know where this story would end?" As a result, two major changes have been made, one of which is the decision to have the story take place after Nikita has escaped. Maggie Q stated, "No one's told her story after the fact. No one knows where she is going." In addition, a new character, Alex, is introduced who has an unexpected backstory. The series is a mix of a weekly mission/counter-mission, and a story arc running through the first season that explores Nikita's relationships with Alex and Michael.

While presenting its 2010"11 season schedule on May 21, 2010, The CW officially confirmed the pick-up of the series and announced its intention to air Nikita after The Vampire Diaries on Thursday nights. In October 2010, Entertainment Weekly announced that the series would receive some tweaking to attract more of a female audience, including a new character and potential love interest for Nikita. However, the network promised the core of the show would remain the same. Later that month, the show was picked up for a full season, which would total 22 episodes. The CW have admitted they took gambles this year but said they were "thrilled that [it] paid off for us."

On May 17, 2011 Nikita was renewed for a second season by The CW in the 2011"12 fall season. It was later announced that they would move the show to Friday nights at 8:00pm, pairing it with Supernatural, beginning Fall 2011. The second season premiered on Friday, September 23, 2011.

On May 11, 2012, The CW renewed the series for a full third season.

Casting

In February 2010, Maggie Q was cast as Nikita. Executive producer Silverstein said casting Q was a simple and quick process, because they wanted someone who was beautiful, and could fight, and who you could believe holding a gun at the same time, and she was perfect. Later that month, Shane West was cast as Michael. In March, Lyndsy Fonseca was given the role of Alex. Silvertein commented the casting of Fonseca, saying she came in at the last moment but was cast because they liked her intensity. Later that month, Tiffany Hines was cast as Jaden and Xander Berkeley was added to the cast as Percy. In October 2010, Noah Bean gained a recurring role as Ryan Fletcher, a CIA case officer and analyst.

Casting for second season started on July 2011 when Dillon Casey was cast as Sean Pierce, a former U.S. Navy Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU, formerly Seal Team Six) officer contracted to monitor Amanda's work at Division and recover the stolen black boxes. Casey was later promoted as a series regular.

After being recurring cast members for two seasons, Noah Bean and Devon Sawa were made series regulars for the third season.

Filming locations

Although the show is set in and around New Jersey, Nikita is primarily filmed in Canada"?specifically, in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario. Much of the show is filmed on location, but studio shooting is also used for sets such as 'Division' and the penthouse. Many landmark locations used on the show, such as the White House, are actually doubles meant to represent various places in North America.

Reception

Critical response

The general reception of Nikita has been positive, with a large fanbase forming early in the first season. Metacritic reports that the average review score for the pilot episode was 66 out of 100, a reception which it ranks as "Generally favourable". Comparisons were made to Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. Critics had praise for Maggie Q in the lead role, the look of the show, solid action sequences, and an intriguing twist at the end, but noted that the dialogue needed some humor.

Ratings

U.S. Nielsen ratings

The pilot episode drew 3.57 million viewers on its initial broadcast. The CW broadcast an encore of the pilot the following day, which drew approximately 2.6 million viewers. The finale was seen by 1.94 million viewers. The first season averaged 2.40 million viewers and a 0.9 18"49 rating in live + same day DVR viewing per episode. Season 2 averaged a 0.5 18-49 rating using Nielsen Live + Same Day DVR data.

The following is a table for the seasonal rankings, based on average total estimated viewers per episode, of Nikita on The CW. "Rank" refers to how Nikita rated compared to the other television series that aired during prime time hours.

Season	Timeslot (ET/PT)	# Ep.	Premiered		Ended		Rank	Viewers Live+SD (in millions)
			Date	Premiere Viewers (in millions)	Date	Finale Viewers (in millions)
Season 1	Thursday 9:00 pm	22	September 9, 2010	3.57	May 12, 2011	1.94	#135	2.32
Season 2	Friday 8:00 pm	23	September 23, 2011	1.85	May 18, 2012	1.42	#182	1.77
Season 3	Friday 9:00 pm Friday 8:00 pm	22	October 19, 2012	0.95	TBA

International ratings

In the UK, the show has been the most watched show for Sky Living every week that its autumn episodes aired. When it returned from hiatus in the summer in a new Wednesday 9:00 PM slot, it finished fourth in the week. However, it was able to increase again in the following weeks.

In the Netherlands the series premiered with solid ratings, the first episode drew an audience of 640,000 viewers. The second episode was broadcast right after the first episode and drew 757,000 viewers, it had a market share of 10.3%. With these numbers Nikita was the 4th most watched channel of the evening.

In France the series premiered with high ratings in its 11:20 p.m. timeslot, the first episode drew an audience of 2.4 million viewers. The show obtained an audience share of 22.6% of France's population which is an extremely high rating despite its timeslot.

In Bulgaria the series averaged 663,000 viewers and was placed at number 12 in the ratings for July.

Accolades

The series has earned numerous award nominations, in awards such as the American Society of Cinematographers, the People's Choice Awards, the Teen Choice Awards and the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards.

Awards and recognition

Year	Award	Category	Recipients	Result	Ref
2010	American Society of Cinematographers	Outstanding Cinematography in Episodic TV Series	David Stockton ("Pilot")
2011	People's Choice Awards	Favorite New TV Drama
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Show: Action
		Choice TV Actor: Action	Shane West
		Choice TV Actress: Action	Maggie Q
			Lyndsy Fonseca
2012		Choice TV Show: Action
		Choice TV Actor: Action	Shane West
		Choice TV Actress: Action	Maggie Q
			Lyndsy Fonseca

Promotion

The show has been promoted through pop-culture conventions such as Comic-Con.

Broadcast

In the United States the show airs on The CW, on Friday nights at 9/8 central.

International broadcasts

Sky Living secured the rights to air Nikita in the United Kingdom as the centerpiece of the channel's autumn schedule. Living's head of acquisitions Amy Barham said "Nikita is the hottest, most action-packed drama of the season with an amazingly strong female lead that we know will excite and engage Living's audiences this autumn. We're thrilled to be able to bring it exclusively to the channel. Chase will follow in 2011, providing a new favorite show for all of our procedural fans."

In Australia, the show airs on FOX8. In New Zealand Nikita is shown on TV2 at 10:30 pm on Wednesdays. In Canada, it airs on CTV Two and started airing the same day as in the U.S.

Merchandise

Home releases of the series are distributed through Warner Bros. Home Video.

Media release

The first season of Nikita, distributed by Warner Bros. on DVD and Blu-ray, features all 22 episodes. It also includes deleted scenes, "Inside Division, Part 1: The New Nikita", "Inside Division, Part 2: Executing an Episode", "Profiling Nikita, Alex, Percy & Michael", audio commentaries and a gag reel as bonus features. The box-set has been released on August 30, 2011 in North America, on September 19, 2011 in Europe and October 26, 2011 in Australia.

DVD releases

Complete Season	Release dates				DVD Extras and Bonus Features	# of Discs
	Region 1	Region 2	Region 3	Region 4
1	August 30, 2011	September 19, 2011	December 8, 2011	October 26, 2011	Audio Commentary; Deleted Scenes; Gag Reel; Inside Division, Part 1: The New Nikita; Inside Division, Part 2: Executing an Episode; Profiling Nikita, Alex, Percy & Michael; Division Tracker (Blu-ray exclusive)	5
2	October 2, 2012	TBA	TBA	TBA	Gag Reel; Deleted Scenes; Audio Commentary (featuring Craig Silverstein and Carlos Coto); and two featurettes: "What if? Writing the Fate of Division" and "Living the Life: Maggie Q."	5

Blu-ray releases

Season		Episodes	Discs	Blu-ray releases
				Region A		Region B
				United States	Canada	United Kingdom	Australia
	1	22	4	August 30, 2011	September 19, 2011	December 8, 2011	October 26, 2011
	2	23	4	October 2, 2012	October 2, 2012	October 1, 2012	TBA

See also

• Nikita
• Point of No Return
• La Femme Nikita