‘The Brave’ looks to stand out in TV crowd
Mike Vogel has a long list of television and film credits that include “Grounded for Life,” “Pan Am,” “Miami Medical” and “Bates Motel.” But no project he has worked on has touched the Pennsylvania native as deeply as his new fall NBC series, “The Brave,” which airs at 10 p.m. Mondays. Getting to play the leader of an elite military group is a thrill for him because it’s giving him the opportunity to pay homage to some people who are very close to him.
Vogel explains that some of his “nearest and dearest friends” come out of this community and his driving concern is to make sure that he and the show do them justice.
“There’s a great quote. It’s debatable whether it was George Orwell or Rudyard Kipling that said, ‘People sleep well in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.’ And I’d like to add to that. I think we understand it in America, having the freedom of opinion and thought and speech, and to come from many differenat viewpoints, that’s the beauty that makes up our country,” Vogel says. “We are afforded that opportunity because rough men and women stand ready to do violence on our behalf and protect that right.
“So, for me, to have the ability to step into that and in some minuscule, tiny way contribute to their real life heroics is an honor, and I’m humbled by it.”
How he and the rest of “The Brave” cast will pay tribute is through the series that follows Captain Adam Dalton (Vogel) and his special ops squad of undercover specialists who carry out each mission on the ground in countries around the world. His team includes sniper Sgt. Jasmine “Jaz” Khan (Natacha Karam), CPO Ezekiel “Preach” Carter (Demetrius Grosse), and intelligence officer Agent Amir Al-Raisani (Hadi Tabbal). The team works closely with D.I.A. Deputy Director Patricia Campbell (Anne Heche) and her team of analysts.
Grosse stresses “The Brave” is not a typical military show.
“While we highlight a very specific group of people who have tactical and military experience, and, yes, we interact with the Department of Defense, and things of that nature, we deal more in terms of the espionage and intelligence levels in the military, the things that we don’t normally see that go into avoiding actual firefights and military conflict,” Grosse says. “So the thing that makes the show unique and special is that you see the behind-thescenes things that you normally wouldn’t associate with military: espionage, code switching, deep cover kind of stuff.”
“The Brave” is designed to focus on two different teams who at times will be 5,000 miles apart and even more distant in other ways. The DIA members have the most exquisite technology in the world, while the team on the ground could be dealing with something as simple as no phone service.
Heche says, “Being a part of this group of people who are representing and honoring our military and the people who have chosen with their lives to give to others and dedicate their lives to saving others is extraordinary. I think I’m fascinated by people who are who sacrifice themselves. And when I first spoke to Dean (executive producer Dean Georgaris) about this project, he was very interested in talking about the humanity. Who are the people who give up their lives for others, and how are they affected by the decision that’s they have to make every day? What is the toll that it takes to serve your country and put that first above all else?”