Paramount Plus’s “SEAL Team”, created by Benjamin Cavell, is an action drama series about a team of Navy SEAL’s, one of the most elite special-operation forces on the earth. But this isn’t just any SEAL unit, this is about the operators of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), formerly known as Seal Team Six, the most elite of the elite units.

“SEAL Team” provides an interesting insight into the lives of these operators, who face challenges on and off the battlefield. This particular unit within DEVGRU is called Bravo Team, led by Master Chief Jason Hayes (David Boreanaz). The rest are team snipers Clay Spencer (Max Theiriot) and Ray Perry (Neil Brown Jr.), Sonny Quinn (AJ Buckley), Brock (Justin Melnick), and Trent (Tyler Grey). Supporting Bravo Team are logistics experts Lisa Davis (Toni Trucks), Lt. Commander Eric Blackburn (Judd Lormand), and CIA operative Mandy Ellis (Jessicca Pare).

The show revolves around the various covert missions Bravo Team executes all around the world, from the mountains of Afghanistan to deep behind enemy lines in North Korea. Amid these overseas battles, each operator fights his own battles at home, may it be the loss of a teammate, being a parent and a better husband, injuries, or PTSD. As the story progresses, these problems test the mental strength of the team as a whole, as they uphold the standards of the professionalism and lethality of a tier-1 fighting force.

Master Chief Hayes, for example, is a seasoned operator that strives for efficiency, commitment, and success. Haunted by the deaths of his previous teammates, he tries creating a wall between himself as Bravo-1 and Jason Hayes, using a technique known as ignore and override. This kind of mentality is common among many special operators in the real world, who often have to lock their emotions away to focus on their job and mission success.

This is what sets “SEAL Team” apart from other conventional military shows: it portrays the grim reality these operators live in, in a fast-paced world where there is no place for failure or the intervention of emotions. Conversely, the horrors of war affect each operator’s life off the job. Minor symptoms become hallucinations, not being able to remember little things and marital problems.
Each character development in “SEAL Team” is very accurate and thought out by the directors and writers. Sometimes it feels hard to grasp the reality depicted in this show, which makes the experience altogether more exciting and terrifying.

The reason this show is so realistic is because it is worked on by former Tier-1 operators like Tyler Gray, who was a member of the Army’s elite Combat Application Group, and the show’s producer Mark Owen, who was a DEVGRU operator and a participant of the raids that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. These experts also trained each of Bravo Team’s actors on close-quarters combat and marksmanship. This kind of training has produced extremely accurate scenes of combat and techniques used by special operators.

The producers also didn’t shy away from buying accurate equipment for the show. Most of the gear worn by the actors on”SEAL Team” are real, including the highly modular HK416 assault rifle, night vision goggles, headgear, plate carriers, etc. The purchase of such costly costume elements proves the commitment the show’s directors and producers have to portray the most realistic scenes.

Not only that, scenes of “SEAL Team” have been captured in a variety of locations. Foreign environments have been very accurately replicated in the studios, which shows the research and time put into building these sets.

Though the pandemic slowed things down for the production of “SEAL Team”, it was up and running sooner than most fans anticipated. The level of commitment put into this show is beyond what I’ve ever seen.

Though “SEAL Team” might not appeal to a lot of hardcore combat fans due to its emphasis on character development rather than continuous combat, I think that they’ve done a fantastic job. This show is one of the best I’ve ever seen and will continue to anticipate the release of more seasons in the future.