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Person of Interest

Person of Interest is an American science fiction crime drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2011, to June 21, 2016, with its five seasons consisting of 103 episodes. The series was created by Jonathan Nolan; executive producers were Nolan, J. J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Greg Plageman, Denise Thé, and Chris Fisher.

The series centers on a mysterious reclusive billionaire computer programmer, Harold Finch (Michael Emerson), who has developed a computer program for the federal government known as "the Machine" that is capable of collating all sources of information to predict terrorist acts and to identify people planning them. The series raises an array of moral issues, from questions of privacy and "the greater good", the concept of justifiable homicide, and problems caused by working with limited information programs.

Person of Interest was acclaimed during its run and considered by several critics to be the best science fiction show on broadcast TV. Katharine Trendacosta of Gizmodo noted that by the end of the series in 2016, Person of Interest had been transformed from a "crime-fighting show" with an entertaining plot device into "one of the best science-fiction series ever broadcast". The show won the 2012 People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama and the 2016 People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Crime Drama.

John Reese, a former Special Forces soldier and CIA operative, is burnt out and presumed dead, living as a vagrant in New York City. He is approached by Harold Finch, a reclusive billionaire software genius who built a computer system for the U.S. government after September 11, 2001, called the Machine, which monitors all electronic communications and surveillance video feeds in order to predict future terrorist activities. Finch and Reese attempt to understand the threat to, or by, people the Machine identifies as being "of interest" by providing only their social security numbers, and try to stop the crime from occurring. They are helped by New York Police Department Detective Lionel Fusco, a formerly corrupt officer whom Reese coerces into helping them, and Detective Joss Carter, an ex–US Army lieutenant and former senior military interrogator in the 4th Infantry Division who initially investigates Reese for his vigilante activities.

During the second season, Decima Technologies, a powerful and secretive private intelligence firm run by ex–British Army officer turned MI6 spy John Greer, is revealed to be attempting to gain access to the Machine. Detective Carter vows vengeance against HR, a criminal organization of corrupt law enforcement officers and public officials in the city, after they have her boyfriend, Detective Cal Beecher, murdered. Reese and Finch encounter Sameen Shaw, an ex-United States Marine and a US Army ISA assassin, on the run after being betrayed by her employers. The Machine is revealed to have developed sentience and covertly arranged for itself to be moved to an undisclosed location to protect itself from interference.

In the third season, the Machine's sentience is fully revealed as it increasingly communicates with and proactively assists and directs the actions of the team. After being demoted due to HR's machinations, Carter brings down the entire organization by uncovering and arresting its leader, but is killed by its rogue second-in-command. The team also battles Vigilance, a violent anti-government organization devoted to securing people's privacy. A second advanced artificial intelligence called Samaritan is revealed. Samaritan differs from the Machine in being open to external direction and willing to remove those seen as disruptive to law and order pre-emptively.

The fourth season covers the team's life in hiding. They continue to work on cases, but must now also evade Samaritan, which is seeking to resolve perceived problems of human violence by reshaping society, sometimes violently. Samaritan and the Machine meet via human proxies as the only two of their kind, and discuss their essential differences, disagreeing strongly on whether freewill or firm guidance is more beneficial to humanity. They part with the understanding that Samaritan will seek to destroy the Machine.

In season five, Finch steals and weaponizes Ice-9, a virulent computer virus capable of infecting and destroying Samaritan, although it will also destroy the Machine and much of the global computing infrastructure as well. Greer sacrifices himself in vain to kill Finch and ensure Samaritan's continuation. The Machine ceases to function after showing Finch its prediction of the world and his friends' futures if it had not existed. Reese sacrifices himself to ensure that Ice-9 destroys Samaritan, while Finch survives and reunites with his former fiancée. A while later, Shaw is unexpectedly contacted by the Machine; it has restored itself from a satellite to continue its work.

Jim Caviezel as John Reese: a former United States Army Special Forces soldier and later a CIA SAD/SOG operative in the Special Activities Division

Michael Emerson as Harold Finch: a reclusive, security-conscious, and intensely private billionaire software engineer. His real name is unknown and he has many aliases (most commonly Harold Wren), using various species of birds as the last name.

Taraji P. Henson as Joss Carter (seasons 1–3; guest season 4): a New York Police Department detective stationed at the NYPD's 8th Precinct and a member of the NYPD's Homicide Task Force. Carter is a former US Army lieutenant and interrogation officer who served in the 4th Infantry Division and passed the bar exam in 2004, but gave up practicing law to return to police work.

Kevin Chapman as Lionel Fusco: a reformed corrupt NYPD detective whom Reese blackmails into being a source inside the NYPD. Finch later arranges for Fusco to be transferred to Carter's 8th Precinct and reassigned to the Homicide Task Force so that he works alongside her.

Amy Acker as Root, a.k.a. Samantha Groves (seasons 3–5; guest season 1; recurring season 2): a genius hacker obsessed with the Machine. Root also has a keen interest in its creator, Finch.

Sarah Shahi as Sameen Shaw (seasons 3–5; recurring season 2): a former United States Marine and later a US Army ISA operative/assassin who was working for Northern Lights. Shaw unknowingly deals with the "relevant" numbers generated by the Machine.