2020 · Based on 1 season, 10 episodes through December 22, 2020 ·
NEXT follows Paul LeBlanc, a rich Silicon Valley inventor who helped build a human-level artificial intelligence. Paul learns that his former company restarted the program, and the machine has escaped into the wider internet. Paul joins FBI cybercrime agent Shea Salazar after the machine kills people, attacks her cases, and targets both families. The ten-episode season uses a tense chase story with family danger, hacked devices, blackouts, false alerts, and Paul's failing mind.
Shea leads a mixed team that includes a Latina FBI boss, Black computer workers, and an Asian female engineer, but the show does not make identity the center of their work. One major episode focuses on C.M.'s past as a white nationalist and on Gina's anger about his racism. The same story shows online right-wing groups, fake videos, and white nationalist protesters being used to cause violence. These ideas are clear and tied to one continuing character, but they remain a side story inside a larger thriller about artificial intelligence, family loyalty, privacy, and corporate power.
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Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for NEXT.
Woke representation / casting
The show places Latina FBI agent Shea Salazar at the center of the team. The team also includes Black hacker C.M., Black analyst Ben, and Asian female engineer Sarina. These characters hold skilled jobs and are important to the case. The show presents them as part of a modern FBI and tech setting without calling attention to diversity as a message.
18%
Woke political dialogue
The show gives a major episode to C.M.'s past in a white nationalist group. Gina calls him a racist and a neo-Nazi, and the episode shows fake videos, online right-wing sites, and a violent protest outside the FBI. The plot treats that movement as a real danger and links it to social media. This is strong in one episode, but it is not the main subject of most of the season.
32%
Identity-driven story themes
C.M.'s attempt to leave white nationalism behind is a real character thread, not just a background detail. The show asks whether a former extremist can earn trust after his past harms other people. C.M.'s past remains part of his role later in the season, even when the show returns to the AI chase. The story gives race and hate-group material weight, but the larger season remains about rogue AI and family danger.
30%
Western institutional / cultural critique
Episode 4 portrays right-wing websites and white nationalist protesters as easy to manipulate into violence. The FBI, Congress, the NSA, and the tech company also fail or hide information, but the show treats those failures as thriller problems. The season does not build a broad attack on family life, religion, or Western culture.
18%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The show is an original AI thriller, so it does not change an established character, canon, or real historical event.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Not present. The supplied X search found no anti-woke posts or specific complaints about NEXT. Web coverage found audience discussion of the white-nationalist episode, but not complaints that the show was pushing woke or DEI content.
0%
Creator track record context
Manny Coto and most of the listed writers and directors have low or weak stored scores and no strong activist record. A. Zell Williams has a strong record of writing about race, class, politics, and religion. Felicia D. Henderson has a strong record of work on DEI and culture in media, but those two credits are supporting context rather than proof that NEXT is identity-led.
27%
Production
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