 Science fiction blog io9 called Moore a "master of world-building", describing Excelsior as a richly described setting.They lauded its freshness in spite of its police procedural genre, saying that it was "bursting with new ideas" and "[r]ejuvenated a whole new genre".Airlock Alpha also commended "17th Precinct" for incorporating a fresh take on the police procedural genre, though also felt the pilot introduced too many characters and concepts.