When it comes to the genre of spy thrillers, viewers have a lot to choose from. From Netflix’s The Night Agent to Slow Horses on Apple TV, these are all shows that promise and expertly deliver on action, intrigue and their fair share of life-threatening, or even world-ending storylines. Among the best recent additions to the genre is Peacock’s The Day of the Jackal, which first premiered on November 14, 2024, and received a solid 84% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. But as the series aims for a 2027 window for the release of Season 2, a Paramount+ show with the same high-stakes thrill is becoming a must-watch for its fans.
The Agency, which first premiered on November 29, 2024, is a spy thriller that’s the perfect example of why a TV show sometimes needs a moment to find its grove. After a lukewarm reception following Season 1, the show’s second season, which was released all at once on Jun 21, 2026, is becoming a true force to be reckoned with. Season 2 boasts an impressive 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, a massive 26% higher than its freshman season. With an impressive cast, and a storyline that only gets better with time, The Agency is slowly becoming one of the most compelling spy thrillers out there.
Advertisement
What Is ‘The Agency’ About?
Based on the acclaimed French seriesLe Bureau des Légendes, The Agency follows CIA operative Brandon Colby, codename “Martian” (Michael Fassbender), as he returns to London after spending six years deep undercover in Ethiopia. There, he broke one of the fundamental rules of undercover work when he fell in love with university professor Sami Zahir (Jodie Turner-Smith). By the time he had to leave, Martian found himself at an emotional crossroads, having no option but to leave abruptly and cut ties with Sami altogether.
Now in England, Martian attempts to settle back into the routine rhythms of CIA desk life, but the transition is anything but smooth. He struggles to rebuild his identity beyond his deep cover, especially when it comes to reconnecting with his teenage daughter. As hesuffers from these growing pains, the department’s trust in him also wavers. Director Henry (Jeffrey Wright) and Chief Bosko (Richard Gere) oversee London Station with sharply different philosophies, and both men quietly question Martian’s reliability even as they juggle their own covert operations. That already-fragile balance collapses when Sami unexpectedly re-enters Martian’s orbit, andhe’s pulled back into a new mission to rescue an undercover field agent.
Advertisement
Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz Which Action Hero Would Be Your Perfect Partner? Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt
Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn’t work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.
🎖️Rambo
Advertisement
🍸James Bond
🏺Indiana Jones
🔧John McClane
🎭Ethan Hunt
Advertisement
01
Advertisement
You’re dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner? The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.
02
Advertisement
You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission.
03
Advertisement
You’re pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what someone is really made of.
04
Advertisement
The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest? Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.
05
Advertisement
How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.
06
Advertisement
Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.
07
Advertisement
Things go badly wrong and you’re captured. What do you trust your partner to do? Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.
08
Advertisement
What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn’t replace? A great partner fills the gap you didn’t know you had.
09
Advertisement
Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.
10
Advertisement
It’s the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now? The last question is the most honest one.
Your Partner Has Been Assigned Your Perfect Partner Is…
Advertisement
Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.
Rambo
Your partner doesn’t talk much, doesn’t need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you’ve finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You’ll never need to ask if he has your back. You’ll just know.
Advertisement
James Bond
Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it’ll take you a moment to remember what’s actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You’ll never be bored. You’ll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.
Advertisement
Indiana Jones
Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar’s eye and a brawler’s instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn’t matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you’ll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.
John McClane
Advertisement
Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren’t so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.
Ethan Hunt
Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you’ve finished reading the briefing, and the plan he’s settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn’t exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.
Advertisement
Advertisement
‘The Agency’ Is the Perfect ‘The Day of the Jackal’ Replacement
From the synopsis alone, it’s safe to say that while both shows are certainly distinct, viewers can attest that The Day of the Jackal and The Agency have the same sleek, modern feel of an espionage thriller while blending high-stakes international intrigue with personal, heartfelt stories. By both honing in on their central characters, played by Fassbender and Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne, both shows use them to portray the psychological toll of living under false identities and constantly operating in secret.
With that said, they differ on the type of spy story they depict. While Redmayne’s character is often in a heart-racing cat-and-mouse chase around the world in elaborate assassinations, The Agency is quieter and more stationary, forcing Martian to confront a relationship with Sami and his daughter, while also navigating the CIA bureaucracy and the consequences of his undercover work. The charm of The Agency comes less from elaborate action sequences and more from uncertainty, manipulation and the question of who he can actually trust. “It’s a chillingly negative view of human nature going rotten at the core, but weirdly compelling nonetheless,” writes one review on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ultimately, while The Day of the Jackal and The Agency are distinct in many ways, both shows present interesting alternatives to a traditional spy thriller and make for equally compelling watches. While The Day of the Jackal is perfect for viewers who love fast-paced action, while The Agency is built for those who prefer slow-burn espionage and morally complicated characters, they tackle similar themes of secret identities, international conspiracies and deadly missions. Most importantly, they tell stories that are just as much about isolation and human connection as they are about espionage.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login