In 2015, a spy series like no other debuted on French television. Le Bureau des Légendes (The Bureau), which revolved around the lives of agents in France's principal external security service, took heavy inspiration from the real accounts of former spies, weaving in their experiences with contemporary events. The result was one of the best TV shows to hit France’s airwaves, and the basis for one of the year’s most surprising new shows: The Agency.
Like its French predecessor, The Agency, which follows the exploits of deep undercover CIA agents, is remarkably grounded for a spy series. The series stars Michael Fassbender as “Martian,” a CIA agent suddenly yanked out of his six-year undercover assignment. Back at home base in London, Martian must navigate the mistrust of his higher-ups, played by Jeffrey Wright and Richard Gere, as well as the probing attention of his former handler (Katherine Waterston), while restarting an ill-advised affair with a woman (Jodie Turner-Smith) he fell in love with during his assignment. The premise is very similar to The Bureau, but the execution is not.
