The Agency Series Premiere Early Review

The following is a spoiler free review of the first two episodes of The Agency, premiering this Friday on Paramount+

Running for eight seasons on Showtime between 2011-2020, Homeland became a sensation that over its run, won 5 Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. This part drama, part CIA spy thriller, premiering at the height of the War on terror, resonated with audiences thanks to its topical subject matter and its many flawed yet compelling characters. With The Agency, based on the 2015 French series The Bureau, Showtime returns to the CIA world with a star-studded spy series led by Michael Fassbender, one of the best actors working today. In what should come as a surprise to no one, he proves that he is more than up to the task. However, this is just the beginning as far as he and the rest of the story are concerned. Being only two episodes in, these first few episodes, for the most part, do what they are supposed to do and that is establish its characters and start planting seeds to establish the story and what path it may be taking moving forward. That being said, the first two episodes are a lot to take in thanks to all its moving pieces. While not unexpected, viewers can easily expect some twists and turns as the series looks to find its footing in making it all work.

The series follows a man known as Martian (Fassbender), a veteran CIA field agent called back from his 6-year undercover assignment in Ethiopia and ordered to return to the station in London. Ignoring protocol, he chose to not sever ties with the life he left behind, including his relationship with a woman named Sami Zahir (Jodie Turner-Smith), and also kept his decision from the agency. Times have clearly changed since before Martian’s (presumably a codename) last mission, therefore, his return came with an adjustment period where he tried to reconnect with the life he first left behind. While the details of his undercover assignment were a secret, the station still had a tail on him to keep those details secret. Using every bit of his knowledge and experience, the playfully combative relationship between he and his tail made for an interesting dynamic as he was not too keen about being surveilled. Keeping his relationship with Sami secret would be a big risk, but it was one that he was comfortable with. However, one question remained and that was whether or not she could be trusted, a question inherent to spy series. Although for now, those concerns were merely secondary as the main concern was an incident in Belarus that prompted the need for Martian to be called back in by Henry (Jeffrey Wright), the Director of Operations for the London station, and chief Bosko (Richard Gere).

Another undercover agent, codename Coyote (Alex Reznik), found himself intercepted by Belarusian authorities under suspicious circumstances. Just like Martian, his assignment was to cultivate potential assets within the Russian and Belarusian governments, as part of the ongoing war with Ukraine and a new potential Cold War, but now, Coyote was missing. Knowing too much about active CIA operations in the area, this of course led to fears that he had been turned and those fears were echoed by Henry and Bosco’s superiors back at Langley. At that point, it was all about trying to salvage the situation by doing some damage control. Diving deeper into Coyote and his sources to investigate what may have led to his detainment and subsequent disappearance, Martian and co. found a lead in one of Coyote’s sources whom they apprehended. An alleged double agent, he quacked just as they thought he would under interrogation, the legitimacy of the information he provided was far from a sure thing.  de

Meanwhile, a passing of the torch of sorts as Martian’s latest assignment was to train the station’s newest undercover field agent before her first assignment in Iran. Though still in its infancy, the teacher-student dynamic between he and the confident and intelligent Daniella (Saura Lightfoot-Leon) is a promising one as the latter prepares to venture out for the first time. Lacking real-world experience, her story will be one to keep an eye on. Also worth keeping an eye on is a twist that could reframe the series moving forward. Using the first two episodes to push the ensemble, the pieces are there but how those pieces grow and evolve over the course of the season remains to be seen as it finds its groove plot wise over the course of its first season. The series may fail to bring anything new to the table in terms of the spy/espionage genre, its topical subject matter and decently tense narrative help make up for it. Its fate ultimately lies on the effectiveness of that narrative.

On a technical level, The Agency is beautifully-shot with the most noticeable aspect being the framing of scenes, creating some memorable visual moments that work to pull viewers further in. For a predominantly dialog-driven series, this makes it easier to stay engaged with whatever is happening on screen. Breaking up those scenes are action sequences that add a much needed dimension to the story. While there is certainly more to come in that department, they create plenty of promise as far as where the series can go. On the other hand, if there was one negative about the series so far, which may seem unfair since it is still too early, is its lack of character development. Bringing in a lot of characters right away, there is a lot to take in but that issue will surely even out over time.

Firing on virtually all cylinders, the best part of The Agency is its performances from its star-studded cast, led by Fassbender as Martian. Other than the aforementioned Wright and Gere, John Magaro (Owen) and Katherine Waterston (Naomi) add to an otherwise strong ensemble but in the end, the star of the show was Fassbender. His presence, as well as his effortless charm and charisma, make the aura of a character like Martian come to life. He is not only compelling to watch as a flawed character with a special set of skills and an air of mystery to him, he also invites viewers on that journey with him. Hopefully, that journey will feature more scenes with Wright and Gere.

At the end of the day, The Agency is a tense, star-studded spy series that doesn’t reinvent the wheel but has strong pieces as it gets out of the gate, none bigger than lead Michael Fassbender.

still courtesy of Paramount+ with Showtime

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.