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The Agency (2024 TV series)

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This article is about the 2024 Paramount+ series. For the 2001 CBS series about a fictionalized Central Intelligence Agency, see The Agency (2001 TV series).

The Agency
Promotional poster
GenreDrama
Political thriller
Spy thriller
Created byJez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth
Based onThe Bureau (Le Bureau des Légendes)
by Eric Rochant
Starring
Music byEmilie Levienaise-Farrouch
Opening theme"Love Is Blindness" covered by Jack White
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
ProducerSimone Goodridge
Running time44–60 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkParamount+ with Showtime
ReleaseNovember 29, 2024 (2024-11-29) –
present

The Agency is an American spy thriller television series from Paramount+ with Showtime produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov and starring Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Richard Gere. The series premiered on November 29, 2024, and is based on the acclaimed French series, created by Éric Rochant.

In December 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise

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Covert CIA agent Martian is ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. A past love unexpectedly reappears, pitting his mission and his real identity against his heart, hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.[1]

Cast and characters

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Main

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  • Michael Fassbender as Brandon Colby, codename 'Martian', previously CIA NOC operative in Africa for six years, and now a senior case officer. He is known to Zahir by his former cover name Paul Lewis.
  • Jeffrey Wright as Henry Ogletree, Martian's boss, mentor and CIA London Deputy Station Chief. His official cover is the Foreign Service Support Attaché
  • Jodie Turner-Smith as Dr. Samia Fatima 'Sami' Zahir, a Sudanese anthropology professor and Martian's love interest
  • Katherine Waterston as Naomi, Martian's former and Danny's current CIA case officer
  • Harriet Sansom Harris as Dr. Rachel Blake, a CIA clinical psychologist assigned to London Station from Langley
  • John Magaro as Owen Taylor, Coyote’s CIA case officer
  • Saura Lightfoot-Leon as Daniela 'Danny' Ruiz Morata, codename 'Gremlin', a new CIA field officer undercover as a geophysics graduate to get on an exchange program to Tehran to identify Iranian nuclear engineers. Her cover name is Daniela Moreno Acosta.
  • Andrew Brooke as Grandpa, a CIA field agent assigned with keeping tabs on Martian
  • India Fowler as Poppy Cunningham, Martian's daughter
  • Reza Brojerdi as Reza Mortazevi, an Iranian seismology professor secretly affiliated with the IRGC. Danny is assigned to get selected for his esteemed exchange program that will allow her to enter Iran with bona fide cover
  • Alex Reznik as Pitor Rybak, codename 'Coyote', a CIA non-official deep cover agent in Belarus
  • Richard Gere as James Bradley, codename 'Bosko', the CIA London Station Chief.

Recurring

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  • Ambreen Razia as Blair, a CIA case officer
  • Alex Jennings as Frank, a senior CIA case officer who originally recruited Coyote
  • Curtis Lum as Guo, a Chinese MSS operative
  • Marcin Zarzeczny as Alexei Orekhov, a trucking company owner and CIA asset in Belarus
  • Violet Verigo as Sandy
  • Adam Nagaitis as Grandma, a CIA field agent assigned with keeping tabs on Martian
  • Bilal Hasna as Simon, a CIA technician
  • Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Ben, a senior CIA technician
  • Sabrina Wu as Raine Miller, a CIA officer
  • Edward Holcroft as Dr. Charlie Remy, Ogletree's brother-in-law, a Delta Force operator and deep cover agent in occupied Ukraine
  • Sergej Onopko as Dr. Koval, SOF soldier undercover with Remy in Ukraine
  • Oleksandr Rudynsky as Sasha Boutenko, an SOF soldier undercover with Remy and Koval in Ukraine
  • Tim Samuels as Alex Kent-Jones, a professor at the Royal College of World Heritage
  • Kurt Egyiawan as Osman, a Sudanese GIS operative assigned to keep track of Sami by her estranged husband

Guest

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byTeleplay byOriginal release date [2]
1"The Bends"Joe WrightJez Butterworth & John-Henry ButterworthNovember 29, 2024 (2024-11-29)
2"Wooden Duck"Joe WrightJez Butterworth & John-Henry ButterworthNovember 29, 2024 (2024-11-29)
3"Hawk from a Handsaw"Philip MartinJez Butterworth & John-Henry ButterworthDecember 6, 2024 (2024-12-06)
4"Quarterback Blitz"Philip MartinJez Butterworth & John-Henry ButterworthDecember 13, 2024 (2024-12-13)
5"Rat Trap"Zetna FuentesJez Butterworth & John-Henry ButterworthDecember 20, 2024 (2024-12-20)
6"Spy For Sale"Zetna FuentesJez Butterworth & John-Henry ButterworthDecember 27, 2024 (2024-12-27)
7"Hard Landing"Grant HeslovJez Butterworth & John-Henry ButterworthJanuary 3, 2025 (2025-01-03)
8"Truth Will Set You Free"Grant HeslovJez Butterworth & John-Henry ButterworthJanuary 10, 2025 (2025-01-10)
9"The Rubicon"Neil BurgerJez Butterworth & John-Henry ButterworthJanuary 17, 2025 (2025-01-17)
10"Overtaken By Events"Neil BurgerJez Butterworth & John-Henry ButterworthJanuary 24, 2025 (2025-01-24)

Production

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Development

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The project received a straight to series order from Showtime, now known as the Paramount+ with Showtime channel which is a part of the Showtime Networks portfolio,[3] in February 2023. It is based on The Bureau a French espionage show created, directed and produced by Eric Rochant. It initially had the title of The Department.[4]

The series is produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov's Smokehouse Pictures, MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios. It is executive produced by Keith Cox and Nina L. Diaz of MTVE Studios, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin and Bob Yari of 101 Studios, Alex Berger for The Originals Productions in France, and Ashley Stern and Pascal Breton for the Paris-based company Federation Studios/Federation Entertainment of America.[5]

Joe Wright is set to direct the first two episodes with Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth writing all 10 episodes.[6] Clooney was originally set to direct.[7]

In December 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.[8]

Casting

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Production started in June 2024, with the title changed to The Agency. Michael Fassbender is an executive producer, as well as in a starring role, played in the French series by Mathieu Kassovitz.[9][10] Shortly afterwards, Jeffrey Wright, Richard Gere, Jodie Turner-Smith, Katherine Waterston and John Magaro joined the cast.[11][12][13][14]

Further cast members were revealed in August 2024, including Alex Reznik, Andrew Brooke, Harriet Sansom Harris, India Fowler and Saura Lightfoot-Leon.[15]

Filming

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Filming took place in London in 2024.[16][17]

Filming also took place in Tallinn, Estonia in September 2024.[18]

Broadcast

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The Agency premiered with the first two episodes on Paramount Global's premium streaming service Paramount+ with Showtime on November 29, 2024 in the United States, before making its Showtime Networks debut which includes the Paramount+ with Showtime channel[3] two days later,[2] with worldwide streaming following on November 30.[19][20]

Reception

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The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 68% approval rating with an average rating of 6.1/10, based on 40 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus is, "Emphasizing spycraft's heavy toll to both intriguing and tiresome effect, The Agency situates its all-star cast in a sumptuously-shot world of espionage."[21] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 66 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[22]

In January 2025, Michael Fassbender was nominated for Lead Actor in Drama at the Irish Film and Television Awards.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "About The Agency". Paramount+. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Shows A-Z - agency, the on Showtime". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b "About Parmount+ With Showtime". paramountpluswithshowtime.com. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  4. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (6 February 2023). "'Dexter,' 'Billions' Spinoffs in the Works as Showtime Doubles Down on Franchise Plan". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  5. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (27 February 2024). "Michael Fassbender in Talks to Star in George Clooney's Espionage Thriller Series 'The Department' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  6. ^ Porter, Rick (5 March 2024). "Paramount+ Sets Creative Team for Spy Drama 'The Department'". Hollywood me Reporter. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  7. ^ Otterson, Joe (6 February 2023). "George Clooney to Direct Showtime Political Thriller Series 'The Department'". Variety. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  8. ^ Campione, Katie (4 December 2024). "'The Agency' Renewed For Season 2 At Showtime After Record Debut Weekend". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  9. ^ Porter, Rick (24 June 2024). "Michael Fassbender to Topline Paramount+ Spy Thriller 'The Agency'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  10. ^ White, James (27 February 2024). "Michael Fassbender To Star In Spy Series The Department For Director George Clooney". Empire. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (1 July 2024). "Richard Gere Joins 'The Agency' Showtime Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  12. ^ Goldbart, Max (15 July 2024). "Jodie Turner-Smith The Latest To Join Showtime's 'The Agency'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  13. ^ Grobar, Matt (25 July 2024). "Katherine Waterston Joins Showtime's 'The Agency' As Series Regular". Deadline. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  14. ^ Petski, Denise (1 August 2024). "John Magaro Joins Showtime's 'The Agency' As Series Regular". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  15. ^ Porter, Rick (22 August 2024). "Showtime Spy Thriller 'The Agency' Adds Five to Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  16. ^ Ghosh, Suchismita (8 March 2024). "Joe Wright and George Clooney's The Department Starts Filming in London This Month". Cinemaholic. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  17. ^ "The Department". Film & Television Industry Alliance. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  18. ^ Kalugina, Jelizaveta; Ots, Mait; Cole, Michael (30 August 2024). "Tallinn's Laagna tee to close to traffic during filming of Hollywood spy thriller". ERR News. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  19. ^ Petski, Denise (5 March 2024). "Joe Wright, Jez & John-Henry Butterworth Board 'The Department' Based On French Series 'The Bureau'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  20. ^ Balderston, Michael (23 October 2024). "Michael Fassbender spy drama The Agency gets surprising release date that has me stoked". yahoo.com. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  21. ^ "The Agency: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  22. ^ "The Agency: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  23. ^ "Kneecap and Say Nothing lead IFTA Awards nominations". RTE. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
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