Standoff premiered on FOX on September 5, 2006. There's no crisis situation they can't handle... unless it involves each other. Matt Flannery and Emily Lehman are the top-ranked negotiators in the FBI's Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU). They're trained to talk their way through volatile situations. They're experts at knowing what makes other people tick. They're also sleeping together... a secret that they agreed to keep to themselves, until Matt reveals it to the entire world during a tense hostage standoff. The public revelation causes friction between Matt, who relies on gut instinct, and Emily, an academic who analyzes every move. Their relationship also gets them into major trouble with their boss, head of the Los Angeles CNU, and raises eyebrows among their CNU colleagues. While Matt and Emily really should be split up for being romantically involved, they're too valuable as a team. Together, they're among the best in their field; Cheryl knows it, and they know it. Ultimately, they all agree that if the personal relationship ends, the pair can still work together. It's great in theory... but it proves to be a little tougher in practice.
