Quick Links
Somewhere amid TV’s golden age of expansion, the art of the quiet political thriller became lost. When it returned, the genre shifted towards the more bingeable, digestible style with mandatory action breaks every 20 minutes.Michael Fassbender’s upcoming Showtime seriesThe Agencyseems set to bring us back to something more likeHomelandorThe Americans, two shows that capitalized on the booming popularity of the crime procedural to slow down the pace a little. Both of these shows focused on the quiet hum of political unease found in early 2010s America when the idea of a perfect family or a perfectly protected state seemed harder to recall.
The Agencyboasts an excellent cast and a seemingly sleek tonein what should be a knockout for the “quiet professional who hides their dysfunction” subgenre that Fassbender likes to play, most recently inDavid Fincher’sThe Killer. With the likes of Jodie Turner-Smith, Jeffrey Wright, Richard Gere, and John Magaro on screen,The Agencyhas brought together a host of excellent actors. On top of that, The Agency is written by people who have worked onBlack Mass,Edge of Tomorrow,Spectre,andFord v Ferrari.
All of this points towards a series that seeks to gently subvert the notions of a political thriller, bringing together a popular pulpy tone with the disarmingly withdrawn efficiency of Michael Fassbender’s on-screen persona. Why should you be excited aboutThe Agency? How does it look to bring something new? What can you expect? Here’s what you need to know.
What to Expect from ‘The Agency’
The Agencyis an espionage thriller set in the department responsible for training and handling deep-cover agentson long-term missions. These agents live undercover for years at a time. This plot sounds intriguing because it looks to slow things down tosoak the tensionout of its situation.The Agencyrelies on character tensions that are rarely seen in shows like this. The fear of bureaucracy traps characters and forces them to go further outside the lines to solve a problem. Combining that with a character-driven show set in a high-stakes world,The Agencyhas a lot of promise.
Kevin Costner’s 1987 Espionage Thriller Is an Overlooked Masterpiece
In No Way Out, Kevin Costner plays a naval officer who’s assigned to investigate a murder by the actual murderer.
Prestige TV looks different from when the term first came into the zeitgeist. It’s a malleable and reductive term mostly, andThe Agency’scareful plotting looks to bring in enough modern elements to make a show that appeals to lots of people, like a central love story, for example. Jodie Turner-Smith is a very underrated actress, and hopefully, she will be given more to do than play the stock mystery love interest. Complex relationships are a currency that a show likeThe Agencythrives on, which gives it a lot of places to goin terms of suspense.
‘The Agency’ Has a Great Cast
Early looks atThe Agencyreveal an exciting cast, some of whom have proved themselves in roles like this, and some haven’t.The always reliable Jeffrey Wrighthas a stoicism about him that always makes him intriguing to watch. His role inWestworldshowed his talent at seeming like he is in control when he really isn’t, and that could provide a fun dynamic between him and the equally calculated Michael Fassbender. On the more untested side of the spectrum, Richard Gere gets the chance to flex his dramatic muscles again in a role that could combine his natural authoritarian charm and his misplaced cocky confidence.
The Best Michael Fassbender Movies, Ranked
The always dynamic and commanding Michael Fassbender has crafted quite an illustrious career for himself and here are his best films, ranked.
At the core of it all is Michael Fassbender, one of the most skilled actors of his generation. Fassbender has the qualities of thelate John Cazale in many ways, an inherent shyness on the surface, which is often confused with psychopathy. There have been times when he has played psychopaths, but he never allows the emotional center of his life to elude him. As an actor, he plays deeply flawed people who never quite have the control you assume.The Agencygives him an excellent opportunity to track a character arc over multiple episodes, slowly peeling away the layers of his calm exterior until he loses complete control.
The Writing Team Behind ‘The Agency’
Fortunately, the writers behind projects likeFord v Ferrari,Black Mass, Spectre,andEdge of Tomorrowhave proven themselvesskilled at manipulating structure and portraying the fractured reality of otherwise imposing hierarchical systems. All three of those movies present a hero or a villain working within established systems of order until the system bears its frailty.The Agency’s strict set of rules will inevitably reveal the flaws behind them, a process which requires a steady hand to scale the undoing.The Agency’s high-stakes world demands protocol, and these writers have found success in showing what happens when someone has to operate within a flawed system, for better and for worse.
The Agencyhas all the ingredients to make for a stellar espionage thriller. Its cast’s natural commanding authority and screen presence seem set to be tested in ways unhelpfully restricted to the order of their jobs. This has the potential for interesting character betrayals, where everything has to remain professional and measured.The Agency’s world of intrigue and danger poses a perfect playground for tactical backstabbing, morally gray decision-making, and theblurring of truth and fiction. For those looking for an intelligent, controlled series,The Agencymight have what it takes to ensnare and keep you in its world of deception.The Agencyis streaming onParamount+through Showtime on November 29.
