Development Series creator
Joshua Safran wanted a "straightforward action show" different from his past work, which included the soapy dramas
Gossip Girl and
Smash. He revealed that he wanted to do something with a law enforcement theme such as a political thriller about the
NYPD after the
September 11 attacks. He based protagonist
Alex Parrish, whose complex family history haunts her throughout the series, on a relative of his; Safran wove his own struggle to understand his family member into Alex's desire to learn the truth about her father. ABC ordered a
pilot on January 23, 2015, for the 2015–16 television season. The series was picked up from the pilot, with an initial order of 13 episodes for the
2015 network television season. Good ratings led ABC to pick up
Quantico for a full season in October with an additional six episodes (increasing the episode count to 19), with an option for more. In November, the season was extended to 22 episodes. In March 2016, ABC announced that it had renewed
Quantico for a second season, also consisting of 22 episodes. The series was produced by ABC Studios in association with
The Mark Gordon Company and Random Acts Productions. Safran, Gordon, Robert Sertner and Nicholas Pepper were the
executive producers, with
Cherien Dabis as one of the producers. Safran served as the
head writer of the series. The writing staff of
Quantico consisted of Justin Brenneman, Cami Delavigne,
Cameron Litvack, Logan Slakter,
Gideon Yago,
Beth Schacter,
Jordon Nardino, and Cherien Dabis, all of whom wrote multiple episodes for the series. As part of the renewal process, Safran stepped down as showrunner but remained as a consultant. The following month, it was announced that
Michael Seitzman would be showrunner and that Safran would be credited as an executive producer. ABC canceled the series in May 2018. Seitzman had plans in the works for a fourth season when the series was cancelled.
Casting Quantico had a racially diverse cast as
FBI recruits who deal with their individual problems. Safran had wanted the series to be diverse from the beginning, saying, "You're not just watching people who have struggled to achieve places of power and they're there. This show is about the struggle to achieve that. Their politics and their racial makeup and their religious backgrounds are very important to their characterizations and who they are. I really am interested in looking at how every culture handles stress — and in particular, how people from all these different backgrounds find their place in the FBI, an agency that has historically-fraught relationships with gay people and
people of color."
Graham Rogers was then cast as another FBI trainee,
Caleb Haas. It was announced that
Aunjanue Ellis had signed to play
Miranda Shaw, assistant director and training supervisor of the academy.
Dougray Scott was cast as
Liam O'Connor, Miranda's former partner and current subordinate. Indian actor
Priyanka Chopra was cast as series
protagonist Alex Parrish, the result of a
talent holding deal with ABC Studios which required the company to develop a starring project for her or cast her in an existing project for the 2015 television season. ABC casting executive Keli Lee had long tried to persuade Chopra to perform on television in the United States. When the actress began considering U.S. TV, Lee learned that Chopra had been approached by another studio: "I said [to Chopra], 'No, you can't make this deal elsewhere. You're coming here. And I'm flying to India. Lee went to India and convinced Chopra to accept ABC's offer. plays series protagonist
Alex Parrish. Chopra saw the deal as an opportunity to represent South Asia and challenge Indian stereotypes in
Hollywood and the United States, saying, "When I was in school [in the U.S.], you never saw anyone who looked like us that was on TV. And that was really weird for me because there's so many people of South Asian descent in America – in the world. I didn't want to be this stereotype of what Indian people are usually seen as in global pop culture. We don't just have to be
Apu from
The Simpsons." Despite having appeared in more than 50 films, she was required to audition for the first time, which she found nerve-wracking. Safran was impressed by Chopra's audition, which helped him re-envision the character, adding, "She walked into the room, and it was like the molecules shifted in that way that superstars have. I was very confused because I didn't know who she was, but we all sat up straighter. We're like, this is clearly a movie star; it's like every hair on the back of your neck stands up watching her act. When I went back home I couldn't think about anyone else." Chopra became the first South Asian to headline an American network drama series.
Jake McLaughlin was chosen to play
Ryan Booth, Alex's love interest, and
Johanna Braddy and
Yasmine Al Massri were cast in the final co-starring roles of trainees
Shelby Wyatt and
Nimah and Raina Amin. ABC announced after it picked up the pilot that the Liam O'Connor character would be re-cast with
Josh Hopkins replacing Dougray Scott in July 2015. That month, it was announced that
Anabelle Acosta was cast in a
recurring role for a multi-episode story arc as Quantico recruit and former police officer
Natalie Vasquez.
Rick Cosnett was also signed for a recurring role as Elias Harper, a former defense attorney-analyst recruit. Prior to the premiere, Acosta was promoted to a series regular. In September 2015,
Jacob Artist was cast in a recurring role as Brandon Fletcher, an FBI agent-in-training.
Marcia Cross was cast as
Senator Claire Haas, vice presidential candidate, Caleb's mother, and the wife of FBI Deputy Director
Clayton Haas. Following the season one finale, Safran confirmed that all series regulars would return for the second season, except for Acosta, Ellington and Hopkins, whose characters were killed off. Safran also expressed interest in bringing back Cross' Claire Haas after it was revealed that she was involved in the bombing plot. Safran discussed the return of
Henry Czerny, who played CIA director
Matthew Keyes in the season one finale, since the character was important to the storyline. The series added three regulars to the cast:
Russell Tovey as
Harry Doyle,
Blair Underwood as
CIA officer
Owen Hall and
Pearl Thusi as
type-A attorney
Dayana Mampasi. In July 2016,
Aarón Díaz joined the series in a recurring role as
photojournalist León Velez, and it was reported that
Tracy Ifeachor and
David Lim were cast in recurring roles as
Lydia Hall and
Sebastian Chen. In early 2017,
Hunter Parrish and
Krysta Rodriguez were cast in the recurring roles of
Clay Haas and
Maxine Griffin. After the third season renewal announcement, it was reported that Al Massri and Thusi would leave the series, and in June 2017, it was reported that Ellis and Tovey would not return as part of a creative overhaul. However, in August 2017, it was confirmed that Tovey would in fact be returning as a series regular. In late July 2017,
Marlee Matlin joined the show as a series regular in the role of ex-FBI agent Jocelyn Turner in the third season.
Alan Powell joined the cast in November 2017 as series regular Mike McQuigg, an undercover agent. The next month,
Amber Skye Noyes joined the third season in the recurring role of Celine Fox. In January 2018,
Vandit Bhatt joined in the recurring role of Jagdeep Patel. On February 16, 2018, it was confirmed that Aunjanue Ellis had exited the series.
Writing Although Safran initially intended the series to be an
ensemble, with Alex the lead protagonist, this changed after Chopra was cast. As the series's "face" and featured in its publicity campaign, Alex dominated the storyline and became the main character. Safran initially focused on the character's dark side, saying that he had never imagined a positive side: "Priyanka came in and played all of that but as a character who was always in control. And still warm and vibrant because she knew no one was going to get through her walls. From that point on, Alex was the kind of character who can have humor, who can have heart." It was intended to have a
flashback narrative, shifting between "the present day with Parrish navigating her way through a class of FBI New Agent Trainees to the near future as the truth and repercussions of the attack emerge." Safran also used
flashforwards to spread out the series'
plot points. According to Safran, the producers aimed at a more mature, darker second season which would be "less confusing" to viewers. Safran had plotted an upcoming plot point as the first season ended, which saw Alex clearing her name, getting fired by the FBI and receiving a job offer by the CIA director. He revealed that the season two storyline would focus on the contrasting work ethics of the FBI and the CIA. He announced that the series would switch to a single timeline after the fourteenth episode. Safran said that the second season was always designed to adopt a single timeline after the resolved storyline and the aftermath of the hostage crisis, adding, "When we broke Season 2, we knew we were going to go to one timeline, because it's about the [terrorist] event, and then it's about what happens after the event. And you can't flashback to the Farm after the crisis is over." He said that the change was also due to viewer complaints that the first season's dual timeline was confusing. with two days of filming in New York. It was announced that the series would be filmed in
downtown Montreal and
Sherbrooke, which stood in for New York and Quantico, respectively. The first schedule began in late July and ended in late December 2015. Quantico Academy exteriors were filmed on the
Université de Sherbrooke campus. The series was shot in Mel's Cité du Cinéma studio and on location. Its second shooting schedule began in January 2016 and continued in Montreal until mid-April. In April 2016, it was reported that production would move to
New York City for its second season; according to Safran, "Season 2 is going to be very much more a New York story." Second season filming, which began in New York on July 13, 2016, was shot at
Silvercup Studios and on location. Filming ended in mid-March 2017. Filming for the third season started on October 10, 2017. Certain scenes of the third-season premiere featuring Chopra were shot on location in
Italy. The last few episodes of the third season were shot on location in
Ireland. Filming for the third season ended in April 2018. ==Release==