Think of espionage and you’re probably picturing undercover agents operating in exotic locations. But the art of living a double life takes a toll on everyone it touches. Paramount+’s new political espionage thriller The Agency sets out to explore this dangerous and secretive world.
A fresh adaptation of critically acclaimed French drama Le Bureau des Legends (released in English-speaking countries as The Bureau), the show follows a covert CIA operative codenamed Martian (Michael Fassbender), who has been ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to the CIA’s London Station. The weight of the personal sacrifices he has made for his career, coupled with an unexpected opportunity for love, drive him to put everything he has worked for at risk to pursue a new life.
Whether you’re a fan of the genre or simply appreciate tense psychological drama, here are five reasons why The Agency should be at the top of your watchlist.
Michael Fassbender is leading a TV show …
The Agency marks the first time the Oscar-nominated star has taken a leading role in a television series. And it’s a classic Fassbender role: Martian is a character with a lot to hide. From a secret sex addict in Shame through to a hitman posing as a mild-mannered businessman in The Killer, Fassbender specialises in dark, lone-wolf characters; he was made to play a spook. His grim voiceover in the trailer gives us a sense of what to expect: “Lie to everyone. Risk your life on a daily basis. No glamour. No exploding watch. I believe there’s one type of agent: the insane.”
… and his character is slowly unravelling
Having been forced to abandon his double life and return to London, Martian himself becomes the subject of an investigation into his undercover affair with Sami (played by Jodie Turner-Smith). Fassbender is one of contemporary cinema’s great sequestered unravellers – see his portrayal of the sadistic Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave – and by the end of the trailer, his ultra-professional exterior is starting to crack. “You’re not trying to help me, Doctor,” he explains to his interrogator at London Station (played by the great Harriet Sansom Harris). “You’re worried I may have somehow become sane.”
It’s a gritty, realistic take on the genre
A fresh adaptation of the critically acclaimed French drama Le Bureau des Legends, The Agency promises to follow the original’s lead as a gritty and realistic exploration of the often unglamorous world of spycraft. While there are plenty of thrills and exotic locations, the plot relies on patience, negotiation and seduction. This level of realism creates complex, believable characters and situations, using their stories to explore complicated moral problems and raise serious political questions. It’s about the lies that intelligence operatives tell the world, each other and themselves, and the damage their work can do to anyone who gets close to it.
With a top-tier supporting cast
The Agency has a high-powered ensemble bringing these complex characters to life. Queen & Slim’s Jodie Turner-Smith plays Sami Zahir, a professor of social anthropology who has a long and tangled history with Martian. Jeffrey Wright, leveraging considerable espionage acting experience from three James Bond films and the underrated 2005 thriller Syriana, plays Henry, CIA director of operations and Martian’s mentor. Adding to the star power, Richard Gere plays “Bosko” – the London Station chief with a chequered past – who sends Martian on his mission to recover a captured agent. If the French original is anything to go by, all these characters have just as much to hide as Martian.
Guided by a specialist team
There’s a seriously talented team on the other side of the camera as well. Screenwriters Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (Edge of Tomorrow, Spectre) have credits on all 10 episodes, while Joe Wright – best known for his 2005 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice and war drama The Darkest Hour – directed the first two episodes. And the series is executive produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures, renowned for high-quality political dramas that explore the workings of American power, such as The Ides of March and Argo. It’s hard to think of a better team to explore the dark and dangerous world of espionage and its psychological toll.
The Agency premieres on November 30, exclusively on Paramount+.
This article was produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Paramount+.
