| The Agency: Central Intelligence | |
|---|---|
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| Also known as | The Agency |
| Genre | Drama Political thriller Spy thriller |
| Created by | Jez Butterworth &John-Henry Butterworth |
| Based on | The Bureau (Le Bureau des Légendes) byEric Rochant |
| Written by | Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch |
| Opening theme | "Love Is Blindness" covered byJack White |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Simone Goodridge |
| Running time | 44–60 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Paramount+ with Showtime |
| Release | November 29, 2024 (2024-11-29) – present |
The Agency: Central Intelligence (formerly known asThe Agency)[1] is an Americanspy thriller television series fromParamount+ with Showtime produced byGeorge Clooney andGrant Heslov and starringMichael Fassbender,Jeffrey Wright,Jodie Turner-Smith, andRichard Gere. The series premiered on November 29, 2024, and is a remake of the acclaimed French series,The Bureau.
In December 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.
CovertCIA agent Martian is ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. A past love unexpectedly reappears, putting his mission and his real identity against his heart, hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.[2]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Teleplay by | Original release date [3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Bends" | Joe Wright | Jez Butterworth &John-Henry Butterworth | November 29, 2024 (2024-11-29) | |
CIA agent Brandon Colby, codename Martian, is recalled to London Station from a six-year covert assignment in Africa. He leaves behind a lover, Dr. Samia Zahir, and has downplayed his deep feelings for her with his handler, Naomi. Martian also reconnects with his boss, mentor and CIA London Deputy Station Chief Henry Ogletree. Both Martian's estranged daughter, Poppy, and Samia appear in London. A valuable CIA asset in Belarus, codename Coyote, is arrested. Naomi prepares a rookie agent, Danny, for a challenging assignment. In the near future, an injured Martian is interrogated by an unseen woman. | |||||
| 2 | "Wooden Duck" | Joe Wright | Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth | November 29, 2024 (2024-11-29) | |
Martian submits to an evaluation by CIA psychologist Dr. Rachel Blake. | |||||
| 3 | "Hawk from a Handsaw" | Philip Martin | Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth | December 6, 2024 (2024-12-06) | |
| 4 | "Quarterback Blitz" | Philip Martin | Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth | December 13, 2024 (2024-12-13) | |
| 5 | "Rat Trap" | Zetna Fuentes | Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth | December 20, 2024 (2024-12-20) | |
| 6 | "Spy For Sale" | Zetna Fuentes | Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth | December 27, 2024 (2024-12-27) | |
| 7 | "Hard Landing" | Grant Heslov | Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth | January 3, 2025 (2025-01-03) | |
| 8 | "Truth Will Set You Free" | Grant Heslov | Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth | January 10, 2025 (2025-01-10) | |
| 9 | "The Rubicon" | Neil Burger | Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth | January 17, 2025 (2025-01-17) | |
| 10 | "Overtaken By Events" | Neil Burger | Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth | January 24, 2025 (2025-01-24) | |
Distracted by his desperation to help Samia, Martian has a bad accident with his motorcycle. The operation to extract Coyote does not go exactly to plan, but is ultimately successful. Volchok is killed, and Charlie and Koval join the rescuers. Naomi waits for Martian to get out of surgery, but he is actually being interrogated by Richardson and his female subordinate. Martian returns to the agency as a hero, having agreed to become Richardson's informant there. | |||||
The project received a straight to series order fromShowtime, now known as theParamount+ with Showtime channel which is a part of theShowtime Networks portfolio,[4] in February 2023. It is based onThe Bureau a French espionage show created, directed and produced byEric Rochant. It initially had the title ofThe Department.[5]
The series is produced byGeorge Clooney andGrant Heslov's Smokehouse Pictures,MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios. It is executive produced by Keith Cox andNina L. Diaz of MTVE Studios,David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin and Bob Yari of 101 Studios, Alex Berger for The Originals Productions in France, and Ashley Stern and Pascal Breton for the Paris-based company Federation Studios/Federation Entertainment of America.[6]
Joe Wright is set to direct the first two episodes withJez Butterworth andJohn-Henry Butterworth writing all 10 episodes.[7] Clooney was originally set to direct.[8]
In December 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.[9] In June 2025, it reported that the second season is retitled asThe Agency: Central Intelligence.[1]
Production started in June 2024, with the title changed toThe Agency.Michael Fassbender is an executive producer, as well as in a starring role, played in the French series byMathieu Kassovitz.[10][11] Shortly afterwards,Jeffrey Wright,Richard Gere,Jodie Turner-Smith,Katherine Waterston andJohn Magaro joined the cast.[12][13][14][15] Further cast members were revealed in August 2024, including Alex Reznik,Andrew Brooke,Harriet Sansom Harris,India Fowler andSaura Lightfoot-Leon.[16]
In June 2025, Christian Ochoa Lavernia was cast as a new series regular while Keanush Tafreshi,Medalion Rahimi,Raza Jaffrey, andTessa Ferrer were cast in recurring roles for the second season.[1]
Filming took place in London in 2024.[17][18]
Filming also took place inTallinn, Estonia in September 2024.[19]
Filming also took place inTangier, Morocco in September 2025.[citation needed]
The Agency premiered with the first two episodes on Paramount Global's premiumstreaming serviceParamount+ with Showtime on November 29, 2024 in the United States, before making itsShowtime Networks debut which includes theParamount+ with Showtime channel[4] two days later,[3] with worldwide streaming following on November 30.[20][21]
Thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reported a 68% approval rating with an average rating of 6.1/10, based on 40 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus is, "Emphasizing spycraft's heavy toll to both intriguing and tiresome effect,The Agency situates its all-star cast in a sumptuously-shot world of espionage."[22]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 66 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[23]
In January 2025, Michael Fassbender was nominated for Lead Actor in Drama at theIrish Film and Television Awards.[24]
