Michael Fassbender Shines in Paramount+’s Scarily Relevant Spy Series (2024)

An agent has been compromised in Belarus and The Agency is on high alert. This is the premise of The Agency's namesake Showtime original, and it's as thrilling as it sounds. In fact, it's also one that lifts liberally from David Fincher’s Netflix original The Killer, as it also stars Micheal Fassbender coming in from the cold. His character, "Martian," returns to London after six years of gathering counterintelligence, forging friendships, and amassing intel to firefight a situation that could end with America under attack. Intentionally low-key, politically relevant, and cut from a different cloth thanks to an excellent ensemble cast, The Agency's two-part premiere is a slow-burn double bill that will set it apart from its fellow espionage shows.

The Agency is a remake of the French thriller The Bureau by Tim Rochant — which can be found on Prime Video, for the curious. It was adapted by the screenwriting duo and brothers Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. Together, the brothers brought their big screen from blockbusters including Edge of Tomorrow and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to bare in their new streaming series. The Agency is character driven, coldly calculating, and hinges on a clinical performance from Fassbender that captures the actor at the peak of his powers.

The Agency Episodes 1 & 2 Are Carried by Michael Fassbender’s Magnetic Performance

The Episodes’ Political Conspiracies and Shady Characters Are Scarily Relevant

Like every espionage thriller of note, The Agency is rife with unrest and underhanded agendas. Skeletons that have been concealed in closets for the longest time are dragged into the light, kicking and screaming. Operatives under the influence drive into oncoming traffic, plow through police cordons, and get shocked into submission by local law enforcement. Among the chaos and carnage is Martian, an undercover artiste who gets introduced to audiences with economy. Holed up in an abandoned farmhouse or traveling by private jet back to the US embassy, this undercover asset is cool under fire. Much of that detachment and indifference comes from an ice-cold Fassbender in one of his more fascinating performances. He shapes a character who has forsaken emotional attachments for so long that he no longer recognizes the man in the mirror. Needless to say, he's a sight to behold.

Throughout this double bill, Fassbender hints at a man in conflict, both with himself and the world. He's someone who has been in the trenches of this undercover world for too long and recognizes how much he has lost. His daughter, Poppy, is the last essential link to his humanity and a life he left behind long ago. A promise of an escape from this clandestine existence hems him in on all sides, and forces this asset to treat everything with professional suspicion. Locked away in a London flat that feels stylish but lacks any personal touches, audiences are invited to watch as Martian checks every crevice. Bookshelves, light fittings, and ornaments are all scrutinized to find anything out of place. In The Agency, someone is always listening, and that paranoia defines much of what makes Fassbender's performance and this series premiere so good. Over FaceTime or in conference rooms, while interrogations take place on video beside him, Fassbender is magnetic. He always stays calm under fire as his political landscape shifts, and even as station chiefs grill him for answers.

The Agency shares much of its DNA with the modern Cold War classic Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson and starrinng Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch, among others. Both the movie and this new series share an intentional lack of polish when it comes to production design that captures London in all its washed out glory. The bleak city is littered with concrete tenements, stretches of road lit by sodium lights, and a US embassy forever resting under a rain cloud. Dank, depressing, and claustrophobic, the British climate has never felt more effective at conveying mood. That oppression extends to a central plot rich with interrogations in container ships, flagrant rule-breaking, and human drama and political intrigue that feel a little too close for comfort. Bouncing between Belarus, Britain, and the warmer climes of Addis Ababa, The Agency also manages to give off international vibes as well. Lessening the focus on East European activities and those closer to Russian borders drives this double bill and ultimately gives it a contemporary edge.

The Agency Episodes 1 & 2’s Supporting Cast Further Elevate the Series Premiere

The Episodes Give the Supporting Cast Just Enough Screen Time

Spy franchises come no bigger than James Bond, and The Agency has conspicuous ties to it through Jeffrey Wright, who appeared in two of the five Daniel Craig Era Bond movies. As Director for Operations at the US Embassy in London, Henry (Wright) is front and center when Belarus blows up. With the iconic baggage of Felix Leiter in his back catalog from the Daniel Craig Era, audiences are afforded an immediate connection that grounds this series. Opposite Fassbender’s Martian, it is clear there is a shared sense of history between them in the service of American counterintelligence. Wright’s powerhouse support brings an unspoken gravitas to these opening episodes that reveal a US Embassy equally gifted at spreading misinformation among the ranks as anywhere else. Juggling the crisis in Belarus alongside the enforced extradition of agents under threat from Ukraine, Wright's presence is key in selling the dramatic potency of the show.

His colleague, confidant, and immediate superior, Bosko, is played by Hollywood legend Richard Gere. No stranger to espionage thrillers himself courtesy of The Jackal — a loose remake of The Day of the Jackal and a mid-level Bruce Willis vehicle from 1997 — this time there are no Irish accents to contend with. Bosko is a careerist who survived the slippery pole of CIA cutbacks after the Cold War, and now finds himself posted in London at a pivotal point in political history. He's a station chief with skeletons in his closet who finds himself witnessing East European hostilities reach a boiling point, courtesy of a captured agent with sensitive information. In truth, Gere gets little to do in these opening episodes aside from striding around with purpose and sharing a few heavy dialogue scenes opposite Wright. However, there is a sense that Bosko will play a larger part in proceedings as The Agency unfolds.

Elsewhere, Katherine Waterston and Jodie Turner Smith offer equally solid support as CIA handler Naomi, and Martian’s highly educated partner Sami Zahir, respectively. The former has appeared in everything from Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice through to the Fantastic Beasts franchise, while Turner-Smith has forged ahead with Disney+'s The Acolyte and the Apple original Bad Monkey. Although the exotic femme fatale might look like a deceptively generic smokescreen to audiences, Zahir is crucial to the story. She is critical in influencing Martian and allowing him to feel again. She offers him hope outside his regimented existence, unlocking emotions that have been dormant. She's more than just a fleeting physical connection that makes him question his priorities, seek solace in her company, and open himself up to betrayal. Naomi, meanwhile, may feel less impactful, but she reveals her softer side in the latter stages of this double bill, especially when ushering a new agent into the fold.

The Agency Episodes 1 & 2 Brings Contemporary Politics & Terrifying Truths to the Table

The Episodes’ Slow-Burn Thrills Promise More to Come

In a world teetering ever close to war, The Agency feels like a dose of low-key smelling salts that brings a much-needed reality check to the spy genre and audiences alike. The series' clandestine services have the trappings of luxury that's expected of fictional spies like 007, with high-end hotels and bottomless expense accounts shaping that belief. However, The Agency dares to offer another perspective on such a lifestyle, which is really defined by isolation, loneliness, and anonymity. It's also one where loyalty to the mission means giving up anyone who ever cared for you and lying to those who remain without thinking twice. It's a world in which protocols and procedures outweigh emotional responses. Fassbender's performance as Martian sits at the intersection between these two, losing faith in the former's glitz and glamor, while fashioning an emotional escape route away from prying eyes.

The Agency also explores a cultural landscape shaped by social media, where privacy in the traditional sense is obsolete. Identities can be manipulated, opinions changed, and countries corrupted with a single keystroke. In this world adapted by the Butterworth Brothers, no one looks like a winner. Every single player in this political game looks strung out, jaded, and indifferent. In this two-part series premiere that successfully strips away any artifice from espionage, The Agency takes advantage of an A-list ensemble cast and lays the foundations for a series with substance. It's the perfect and sobering reflection of a world where political corruption is rife, personal freedoms are compromised, and elected officials choose their administrations from daytime television. The Agency will hit a bit too close for some viewers, but that's precisely what makes it worth tuning in every week.

The Agency's first two episodes are now airing on Paramount+ and Showtime.

8

10

The Agency Episodes 1 and 2

Drama

Thriller

A covert CIA agent is ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station; when the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites.

Release Date

November 29, 2024

Cast

Jeffrey Wright , Michael Fassbender , Jodie Turner-Smith , Saura Lightfoot Leon , Katherine Waterston , John Magaro , Alex Reznik , Harriet Sansom Harris , India Fowler , Reza Brojerdi , Richard Gere

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

1

Network

Paramount+ with Showtime

Directors

Joe Wright

Producers

Bob Yari , David Glasser , David Hutkin , George Clooney , Grant Heslov , Jez Butterworth , Michael Fassbender , Ron Burkle , Pascal Breton , John-Henry Butterworth , Nina L. Diaz , Grant Heslov

Pros

• Michael Fassbender is on magnetic form
• The Agency features a flawless ensemble cast

Cons

• Some audiences might find its clinical approach offputting.