Emilia Clarke will always be known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones, and Haley Lu Richardson made quite an impression on Season 2 of The White Lotus as the assistant of the doomed Tanya McQuoid. In Ponies, however, which premiered Thursday on the 2026 TV schedule, the actresses portray characters who are, quite literally, of no interest. Let’s see what critics have to say about the new spy thriller, available to stream with a Peacock subscription.
Ponies is set in the 1970s in the Soviet Union, where the CIA husbands of Bea and Twila (Emilia Clark and Haley Lu Richardson, respectively) die under mysterious circumstances. The secretaries take over their job, expecting to excel as spies because they are Persons of No Interest (aka PONIs). Tania Hussain of Collider gives the series an 8 out of 10, writing that compelling scripts and striking performances already make this one of the most impressive new shows of 2026. The critic says:
