Valor is a CW drama series created by Anna Fricke and Kyle Jarrow, serving as showrunners. It stars Matt Barr and Christina Ochoa in the lead roles of the show. The first episode aired on October 9, 2017.
The show takes place in Somalia where 186th Special Operations Aviation Regiment "Shadow Raiders" choppers are deployed to back Delta Force during a black op to secure an important target. Before the 186th SOAR could withdraw, they found themselves under attack from armed Somali militiamen that they sustained heavy losses. The only survivors who were able to escape the ambush are Captain Leland Gallo and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Nora Madani, who were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with "V" device for their actions in Somali territory...
Except that the two pilots found out that the target they extracted was someone who was supposedly declared dead publicly. Sergeant Shane Dylan Hendrix of Delta Force and Staff Sergeant Jimmy Kam of "Shadow Raiders" was declared AWOL until the latter's family found out that they were held as prisoners. They stumble onto a conspiracy that concerns their Somali op and officials trying to determine if Gallo and Madani are hiding any other details from their superiors...
Due to declining ratings halfway through the show, The CW announced that the show will not have another season, leaving some of the events in the last episode in a cliffhanger.
This show provides examples of:
- Ace Pilot: Gallo and Nora who are awarded with the Distinguished Flying Cross in "Pilot" for valor during a mission to Somalia that ended with a helicopter crash and the two of them avoiding their pursuers for six days.
- Action Girl: Chief Warrant Officer Nora Madani, one of the first females to ever serve in Special Operations.
- African Terrorists: In "Pilot," the Somali militia that ambushes the "Shadow Raiders" force after Delta Force has extracted their target.
- Best Friend: Jess and Nora seem to have been friends for a long time and show a very trusting relationship and often confide in each other.
- Descent into Addiction: Subsequent to her injuries suffered in a helicopter crash Nora develops an addiction to prescription painkillers.
- Driving Question: What else took place in Somalia? And why was the target an American soldier who was declared dead a few years ago?
- Drowning My Sorrows Gallo and Thea do this in "Blurred Lines" after they get frustrated with work. As they bump into each other at the same bar, they quickly hook up turning into a Sex for Solace session.
- Elites Are More Glamorous:
- The 186th Special Operations Aviation Regiment "Shadow Raiders," based on the actual 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne).
- Delta Force is deployed in "Pilot" with the SR to Somalia on a black op.
- Everybody Has Lots of Sex: There is plenty of bedroom action in this series, with Gallo, Nora, and Thea each having a minimum of two sexual partners.
- My Greatest Failure: Gallo is haunted by the accidental killing of a noncombatant child during his tenure in special forces.
- I Call It "Vera": The main helicopter they fly is nicknamed "Adele."
- More Dakka: The SR choppers have miniguns attached to them for protection and to take out enemy personnel on the ground.
- One-Word Title: As a reference to the military.
- Post-Coital Collapse: Gallo is seen rolling off of his girlfriend Anna in bed post-sex, quickly followed by a Talking in Bed scene where she confesses she feels she's Being Watched at work.
- Pre-Climax Climax: Gallo and Nora end up sleeping together in "Command and Control," just before the start of the mission to rescue Jimmy. They actually talk about how little they slept for this important mission.
- Sequel Hook: The final episode leaves some big plot threads dangling: Madani & Gallo are thrown out of the Army but Thea manages to use her influence to get them into the CIA, where they would be free to explore their budding relationship; some of Khalid Samatar's missing uranium is revealed to have made it to Ukraine; and Congresswoman Simone Porter turns out to be Snake Eyes.
- Short-Runners: Canceled after 1 season due to crushingly low ratings. Of the three military dramas that debuted in Fall 2017, this had the worst viewership of the bunch.
- Toplessness from the Back: Nora when getting out of bed in "Esprit de Corps."
- Workout Fanservice: Nora's morning jogs in tight clothing, with the camera zooming in constantly on her.
