‘Class of ’09’ Stars Kate Mara & Sepideh Moafi on ‘Trauma Bonding’ in FX’s FBI Drama

FX‘s Class of ’09 is taking the FBI genre to another level on Hulu, presenting a story spanning three distinctive points in time.

Centering around a young class of FBI agents, the series tracks their journey through the system and the changing U.S. criminal justice system which is altered by artificial intelligence. Poet (Kate Mara) and Hour (Sepideh Moafi) are among those agents. Classmates and roommates, Poet and Hour’s bond is explored in the three timelines, beginning in 2009, in present-day 2023, and in the future.

“I was intrigued by exploring the three different time periods in a person’s life,” Mara tells TV Insider. Admittedly, the actress says, “When I read the first couple of episodes, Brian Tyree [Henry] was already attached, so I was really excited to get the chance to work with him.” Along with Henry, Brian J. Smith features beside Mara and Moafi.

(Credit: Richard Ducree/FX)

Described as one of the most successful undercover agents of all time, Poet helps exhibit the leaps and bounds that artificial intelligence has made in the criminal justice world. The specifics of her links to the tech are too big of a spoiler, but the actress shares, “It was part of the exciting process of making the show, being able to look a certain amount of years into the future and see [different] types of technological advances.”

Those advances pop up in the later timelines, but when Hour starts training alongside Poet, she’s struggling to make it among her peers. “There are so many different layers to her character, her personality, and her psychology,” Moafi points out. “I think most people can relate at a certain point in their life to feeling like an outsider, like a misfit.”

Moafi says her personal connection to Hour stemmed from her identity as a member of “an Iranian refugee family and feeling like you don’t really have a community or a social circle that you belong to.” Still, Hour puts her best instincts forward, as Moafi notes, “She’s able to put her gifts into use. She’s a tech genius.”

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And while Hour may be skilled with tech, that doesn’t prepare her for the unruliness of it. “When it’s left uncontrolled, it can get out of hand. And so, she tries to improve law enforcement for good, but it’s taken out of her hands and ultimately creates more of a security state, which is the last thing that she wanted,” Moafi teases.

When it comes to Hour, and Poet’s bond, Moafi says, “You just don’t really get to see this kind of nuanced relationship on screen. You have your good days, your bad days, and you share all of the challenges together, and that’s a bonding experience. As you see throughout the show, there are certain trauma-bonding experiences they have.”

Viewers will have to tune in to find out exactly what those trauma-bonding moments come to pass and whether that tight bond Poet and Hour share at the beginning is the same in the future as Mara teases, “Some people really, really change, and some people don’t change at all. Some people grow immensely in a specific time, and then some people are sort of stuck, and it’s relevant to us today as well.”

FX’s Class of ’09, New episodes, Wednesdays, Hulu