# Sleeper Cell (2005)

> An African-American Muslim FBI informant infiltrates an Islamic sleeper terrorist cell in the United States, navigating loyalty and identity at every turn.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/2289

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 18
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama, thriller
- Created by: Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris
- Network: Showtime
- Cast: Michael Ealy, Oded Fehr, Henri Lubatti, Omid Abtahi, Kevin Alejandro, Melissa Sagemiller, Blake Shields, Alex Nesic
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465353/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: chilling, tense, unflinching, paranoid, intimate

## What critics say

Audience reception is positive overall, with the first season rated noticeably higher than the second.

## Synopsis

Sleeper Cell (2005-2006) is an American crime drama series created by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris for Showtime. Michael Ealy plays Darwyn al-Sayeed, an African-American Muslim working undercover for the FBI who embeds himself in an Islamic sleeper terrorist cell in the United States. Oded Fehr plays Faris al-Farik, the cell's charismatic leader whose trust Darwyn must earn, while Henri Lubatti's Ilija Korjenic and Melissa Sagemiller's Gayle Bishop add pressure from the cell's ranks and the federal side. The engine of the series is the constant risk of exposure: every meeting, prayer and recruitment is a test of whether the agent can keep both his cover and his conscience intact. Across two seasons and eighteen hour-long episodes, the story moves forward as one continuing arc rather than a case of the week. The tone is chilling, tense and unflinching, asking viewers to consider several sides of a politically charged conflict. Set in the post 9/11 United States, it carries the paranoia of its era into domestic neighborhoods and safe houses. Fans of 24, Homeland and The Shield will find resonance in its double identity suspense and morally complicated characters, though its tone is more intimate and talky than action driven.

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