What happens if pretending to be someone else becomes your entire life?
It is a question at the heart of many of the biggest spy dramas, from Slow Horses to Black Doves – and it is one that TV thriller series The Agency explores more deeply than most.
Returning for a second season, the Paramount+ thriller follows CIA operatives living under deep-cover identities.
It examines not just the dangers of espionage, but the psychological cost of maintaining a lie for years.
Starring Michael Fassbender, Richard Gere and Katherine Waterston, the series is based on acclaimed French drama The Bureau.
The Agency’s stars say its appeal lies not in explosions or gadgets, but in the exploration of the moral compromises that come with a life built on deception.
“What sets it apart is that it leans more into the John le Carré experience – the isolation, the loneliness and the reality of the world,” Fassbender tells the BBC.
He plays Martian, a veteran CIA operative whose years undercover have left their mark.
The emphasis on character over action divided critics when the first season premiered – some praised its “intelligence and realism”, while others found its measured pace challenging.
The New York Times said, external the show gives “viewers a real taste of what it’s like to love a liar”, as “we’re never quite sure what Martian’s angle is, how much of his seemingly vulnerable moments are all part of the game”.
But The Guardian described it, external as a “slow and ambling show” that “moved with all the urgency of the recently tranquillised”.