The Tom's Guide Verdict: 'The Agency' season 2
Rating: 4/5 stars
Verdict: "The Agency" was a dark, twisted spy thriller that ended in death and betrayal in season 1. Season 2 picks up right where we left off, and gives us more of the same, for better and worse (but mostly better). Like in the first season, the calling card of this show remains its incredible cast, led by Michael Fassbender and also starring Jeffrey Wright and Richard Gere. It's not a perfect show, but it's undeniably a must-watch.
Release schedule: All 10 episodes of "The Agency" season 2 will be released on June 21 at 3 a.m. ET on Paramount+
Where to watch: Stream "The Agency" on Paramount+
"The Agency" is back for season 2, and if you liked the first season, you'll like this one too. If for some reason you didn't like last season, well ... you won't suddenly find yourself liking this one. But provided you couldn't get enough of Paramount+'s spy thriller back in 2024, you're going to struggle not to binge-watch season 2 in an entire sitting.
Yes, "The Agency" is getting a binge-drop release schedule this time around. All 10 episodes arriving at exactly 3 a.m. ET on June 21. It's a deviation from the first season, when episodes were on Showtime with Paramount+ and were released weekly. But having seen the entire season myself, I'm actually not complaining. This show is insanely addictive, and once it starts, it becomes a non-stop chess match between spymasters, mercenaries and hostile governments that leaves plenty of bodies in its wake.
The show is well written, which maybe isn't a surprise given it's an adaptation of the acclaimed French series "The Bureau." But it's not the highlight of the show. Nor is the action, of which there is plenty. Once again, the highlight of season 2 is the same as season 1: its cast, led by Michael Fassbender.
Michael Fassbender leads everyone on a wild goose chase that leaves bodies in his wake
In season 1, "The Agency" set up an ensemble cast that included Richard Gere as James Bradley, aka "Bosko," the CIA London Station Chief. His right-hand man was Henry Ogletree, played by another acclaimed actor, Jeffrey Wright. Henry then had two deputies: Naomi, played by the talented Katherine Waterston, and a former deep-cover operative named Brandon, codenamed "Martian," played by two-time Academy Award nominee Fassbender.
As the core of London Station, they operated primarily in two arenas: The Ukraine War and Iran. These storylines remained largely disparate, with the Ukrainian front seemingly wrapping up in the epic season finale, and the Iranian storyline unresolved.
In season 2, we quickly learn that loose ends in Ukraine aren't neatly tied up. The mercenary group, Valhalla (based loosely on the Wagner Group), may have lost its leader in Ukraine, but now a new leader has arisen in the Central African Republic. His name is Viking (Clayne Crawford), and he's a former U.S. Marine who's a chess grandmaster and executes people with a sledgehammer in publicly released videos.
Martian is trying to bring him down, but he's got problems at home; specifically, he betrayed the U.S. government to free his Sudanese girlfriend (Jodie Turner-Smith) from captivity. He did this by turning double agent for Richardson (Hugh Bonneville), a senior MI6 official hoping to use his new asset to rise up the ranks.
It's through that storyline that the Valhalla and Iran storylines finally come together, but I won't spoil exactly how that happens, as it's a key turning point in the season. But their coming together does fix one of the weakest points of the first season: the storylines were simply too disconnected.
That said, this season isn't flawless. While everything is more connected than before, I still find myself simply not caring about anything other than what's going on in Martian's life. Viking is a compelling villain, but I feel like the brief moments we get with him aren't enough. And Jodie Turner-Smith, while still important to this season, is frankly underutilized.
Still, by the end of the season, you probably won't care. Because "The Agency" knew to end things on a high note in season 1, and it didn't forget that lesson in season 2.
Verdict: The burn on 'The Agency' season 2 can be slow, but the explosive ending is worth the wait
When you read this, the first episode of season 2 won't even have arrived on Paramount's streaming service. So I'm certainly not going to spoil the ending here when you haven't even had a chance to watch.
But trust me when I say that if the season 1 finale left you stunned, as it did me, then season 2's finale will have you equally shocked. It's not quite as good as the first season's ending was, but it will have you just as much on the edge of your seat as the endgame approaches and all the movie pieces come together in an epic clash. Check it out this Sunday on Paramount+, then get ready for Paramount to (hopefully) announce that season 3 is coming soon.
