SIX: A military drama about Seal Team 6

Eric Sof

SIX History Channel Series about Navy SEAL Team Six

Stemming from an idea by Harvey Weinstein, the SIX drama is inspired by real missions, capturing SEALs’ complex personal lives and the life-and-death decisions they make, with each season set in a different location, starting with Africa.

The Plot

The SIX TV show follows US Navy SEAL Team Six, the best of the best, whose 2014 mission to eliminate a Taliban leader in Afghanistan goes awry when they uncover a U.S. citizen working as a jihadist fighter with the terrorists.

I was hooked after the first episode of this amazing TV show. The acting is excellent, the actors going out of their way to train like their real-life counterparts. I feel drawn to their characters, they feel more real than some of the other similar characters on similar shows. Real SEALS do not talk about or brag about their accomplishments. And they are real people with real-life issues. What they do for a living can magnify these real-life issues.

Walton Goggins of SIX TV show
Walton Goggins of ‘Six’ had one of the main roles in TV show (Photo: History Channel)

Also, storylines including their family life and to see no one is perfect, they have their troubles like the rest of us. They all have different family issues that are probably quite representative of a lot of families in their position. And for those complaining about realism, keep in mind that this is a tv show, but this show has a great blend of TV and realism to keep you hooked and to satisfy those that are more discerning. Their stories are gripping and I can’t wait for the next season.

Storyline

The story starts with Goggins who plays Richard “Rip” Taggart, leader of the military counterterrorism unit known as Navy SEAL Team Six. You know the real version of U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six from such operations as the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, but this particular group of fictionalized warriors has been intimately involved with a long stretch of America’s longest deployment.

As we initially begin in 2014 in Afghanistan, Rip has been in-country for too long and, still smarting from the recent end of a relationship, he’s lost his moral filter, which doesn’t bother trusted right-hand Joe “Bear” Graves (Barry Sloane), but gives pause to Alex “Apparently No Nickname” Caulder (Kyle Schmid). An operation goes pear-shaped and a possibly innocent (but possibly not) man is killed, leading to future ripples.

Two years later, Rip has become a private contractor in Nigeria when the oil company he’s protecting runs afoul of Boko Haram, which attracts the attention of both his former squad and a terrorist with a personal motivation for vengeance. Who will get to Rip first? Well, that’s the plot of the show, which comes from creators David Broyles and William Broyles.

What Navy SEALs think about SIX?

Six is very unreal. I could count a tactical mistake once every second. You even see Seals being fired at and not searching for cover, but turning themselves at the threat’s direction and returning fire (which is the perfect way to die). The firefights are ridiculous at best, the tactics written by someone who obviously knows nothing about the subject. Only the personal equipment is accurate (guns, sights, vests, night vision devices, and infrared lasers, etc).

Is it worth watching?

I suggest you watch the entire season One before you decide what you think of this show. It builds and the payoff is worth it. I was frankly shocked by the graphic nature – not of the battle scenes which ought to be graphic, but the raw language, emotion, sexual scenes, etc.

But, here is my opinion about this TV series. The SIX is fun; the firefights are Hollywood style ‘fun’ with people screaming, running forward a shooting already enemy (this never happens in the real world) and there is hand-to-hand combat too, which is very rare in the real world (but always cool to be seen).

Seasons

In the end, the SIX Tv series had two seasons, while it was canceled for Season 3. It was canceled because it had a lot of competition. In fall 2017, three series about Navy SEAL were aired. CBS’ SEAL Team, NBC’s Brave and the CW’s Valor all come out at the same time.

SIX TV Show Starring
Stars in SIX: Barry Sloane, Kyle Schmid, Juan Pablo Raba, Walton Goggins, Edwin Hodge, Brianne Davis, Eric Ladin (Photo: History Channel)

Because of all the competition, History delayed the Season 2 debut of Six until after the end of the broadcast season in late May. Still, ratings have dropped in Season 2, running 50% below the Season 1 averages in Live the same day, leading to History’s decision last month to cancel the seriesThe cancellation is not a reflection of Six‘s quality, according to the History Channel’s bosses.

UPDATE: It was so disappointing to hear that this show has been canceled. I am praying that it gets picked up by another network or platform. So far, there is no clue will it ever be continued.

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