Departure

When passenger jet Flight 716 disappears over the Atlantic, it touches off an urgent, public search for answers. Kendra O'Malley, recently widowed and respected for her aviation expertise, is asked by her former boss Howard Lawson to lead the investigation. She assembles a compact team and sifts through flight data, maintenance histories, and fragmentary witness accounts, while pressure from officials and the media mounts. The inquiry uncovers conflicting leads, institutional secrecy, and procedural obstacles that complicate straightforward conclusions. The series traces Kendra's methodical work to piece together evidence, the strain of personal loss that follows her, and the moral and bureaucratic tensions that shape every new clue, without revealing the case's final resolution.

Departure premiered in 2019 and was created by Vincent Shiao. The drama-crime series is led by Archie Panjabi as Kendra O'Malley, supported by Mark Rendall, Kristen Holden-Ried, Patrick Sabongui and Savonna Spracklin, who form the core investigative ensemble.

Departure didn't collect major industry awards or high-profile nominations. While critics and viewers often pointed to Archie Panjabi's performance as a highlight, the series saw limited formal recognition during awards season and remained mainly a genre entry in television lineups.

Though it didn't become a mainstream cultural landmark, Departure sparked steady conversation among fans of aviation mysteries and procedural crime shows. Comparisons to classic missing-plane narratives turned up online, and Panjabi's central role helped draw attention to portrayals of women leading investigations. The show retained a focused, engaged audience in niche forums and social media conversations.

Critical and audience reaction was mixed to positive, holding an average around 6.53 out of 10 from viewers. Reviewers praised the attention to procedural detail and Panjabi's steady presence, while some noted uneven pacing. Recurring themes include grief, institutional opacity, the challenge of verifying evidence, and the personal cost of pursuing difficult truths.