Told using dual timelines, the narrative switches between the present, where Parrish runs from captivity to prove her innocence, and the past, which shows her training at the academy with her fellow recruits as details about their lives and relationships with one another are revealed.

Season one begins with Alex Parrish, a former FBI recruit, becoming a prime suspect following a terrorist attack on Grand Central Terminal.

Her first escape is orchestrated by Deputy Director Miranda Shaw, her primary instructor at Quantico, who refuses to believe that she is guilty and feels someone from her class has framed her.

The present timeline focuses on the restrained relationship between Parrish and her boyfriend Ryan Booth and fellow trainees and friends, including: Shelby Wyatt, Nimah and Raina Amin, Natalie Vasquez, Simon Asher, Elias Harper and Caleb Haas, who all somehow seem connected to the bombing, while she is on the run to prove her innocence.

She discovers that the suspected bomber is former FBI analyst-trainee Elias Harper, who planted the bomb on the instructions of a terrorist mastermind.

The supervising training agent Liam O'Connor is eventually revealed to be the responsible individual and is shot and killed by Parrish and Booth.

[42] In early March, Jake McLaughlin was chosen to play Alex's love interest Ryan Booth, while Johanna Braddy and Yasmine Al Massri rounded out the cast in the final co-starring roles as trainees Shelby Wyatt and the twins Nimah and Raina Amin, respectively.

[24] The same month, Anabelle Acosta and Rick Cosnett were cast in recurring roles as Natalie Vasquez and Elias Harper.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Obvious copycatting aside, Quantico provides ludicrously entertaining thrills from a well-balanced cast.

She felt the show was "taut and terrifically calibrated" noting it has "at least one deadly effective twist you won't see coming".

[56] The San Francisco Chronicle praised the series, calling it a winner and wrote: "The plot is intricate and compelling, the characters magnetic and mysterious at the same time.

"[57] James Poniewozik of The New York Times wrote about Chopra's performance, describing her as the "strongest human asset" of the show, and added that "she is immediately charismatic and commanding".

"[58] Robert Bianco from USA Today gave it a three out of four, praising the diversity of the cast and Chopra's and Ellis' performances, writing "There are times when Quantico feels a shade mechanical, in moments when you can practically hear the plot gears moving.

But it accomplishes what the opener of a whodunit needs to do: establish a wide range of plausible suspects and spark our interest in the mystery and the hero.

He concluded saying that the fluffy material did not fit well with the darker tones "meant to be struck by the introduction of a cataclysmic terrorist attack.

[65][66] The show continued to perform well during live viewing while registering strong gains in DVR playback, more than doubling several times in season one.