I saw the first three episodes of The Agency on Paramount+Showtime last night. It's a spy-thriller narrative, with John le Carré feel to it -- that is, a complex story, with several layers of characters, and a central character who, for whatever reason, is operating and living not completely in synch with his/her superiors in the agency.
And The Agency does have this particular twist: the "Agency" is actually our American agency, aka the CIA, in its critically important London bureau. This affords The Agency the best of both worlds -- the easy rudeness or at least bluntness of Americans, working in the streets, and flats, and eateries of London. In that mix, The Agency has connections with both the Americans in Sheraton Taylor's Lioness (here's my review of the first season, and I'll be reviewing the second season in the next day or so) and the Brits in Joe Barton's Black Doves and Debora Cahn's The Diplomat. If this gives you the impression that spy thrillers are very much in the air these days -- or, more precisely, in the stream -- you'd be completely right.
All of these series also have top-notch famous acting, and The Agency is no exception. Richard Gere plays the bureau chief, Jeffrey Wright is right below him, and Dominic West is right above him as the CIA Director (I'll just note that the first time I saw West in an American role was in The Wire, and his American accent was so good I was surprised to find out he was British). Michael Fassbender plays the beleaguered agent-hero, and does a good job of it, as does Jodi Turner-Smith as his girlfriend.
Now, you'll notice I haven't warned you about spoilers, because I don't intend to give you any. But I will say that The Agency in its first three episodes offers a provocative blend of intellectual puzzling and life-and-death action. I'll be back here with more when I see more of the series. In the meantime, I highly recommend it.
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