Published Jun 27, 2026, 11:28 AM EDT
**Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. **Collier, or “CJ” to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he’s been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.
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Most streaming services often rely on iconic franchises or breakout hits to maintain their success. In the case of Paramount+, it’s mostly been supported by two constants: Taylor Sheridan** **and Star Trek. Sheridan created a wealth of shows for Paramount+ following Yellowstone’s breakout success. At the same time, **Alex Kurtzman **and other creators delivered a variety of *Trek *shows that spanned nearly every era of the final frontier. Paramount+ is now facing a massive shift as Sheridan is set to depart for a lucrative deal at Universal, and the only remaining *Star Trek *series will be ending next year. **A new spy thriller has proven itself to be the next big hit for Paramount+, **thanks to a major shift of its own.
The series in question is The Agency, created by veteran screenwriters **Jez & John-Henry Butterworth **(Ford v Ferrari, Edge of Tomorrow). It stars **Michael Fassbender **as a CIA agent who’s pulled out of an undercover assignment, only for his life to be upended when his lover (Jodie Turner-Smith) follows him to London. Season 1 of *The Agency *was a moderate hit, sitting at 66% on Rotten Tomatoes; however, Season 2 shot up to a whopping 90%. What exactly is the reason for this major uptick in critical reception? The answer lies in *The Agency *shaking up its story and its schedule.
Throughout Season 1 of The Agency, most of the story was dedicated to Fassbender’s Martian struggling to acclimate to life in London, all the while dealing with the cost of a double life. It also featured a different release schedule, with the premiere consisting of two episodes, followed by one episode each at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025. Season 2 has radically shaken things up by dropping all 10 of its episodes on a single day. It also marks a significant shift in the story, as Martian ends up leaking information within the CIA while battling the mercenary code-named ‘Viking’ (Chayne Crawford). The bingeworthy storyline, packed with plenty of twists and turns, blends the paranoia of the Jason Bourne franchise with the high-octane action of the James Bond movies. It also secured *The Agency *a place on Paramount+‘s Top 10 TV shows.
While *The Agency *Season 2 does end on a major cliffhanger, there’s one piece of evidence that it could be renewed for more seasons. **The series is ****an adaptation of the French-language spy thriller **The Bureau, which ran for five seasons. *The Agency *is even closely adapting some of The Bureau’s plotlines, including the fact that the latter’s protagonist would end up playing the role of double agent in one season. It wouldn’t be the first time an American adaptation of an international series was successful, and with Paramount+ needing more hit series outside Taylor Sheridan and the *Star Trek *universe, it wouldn’t be surprising if *The Agency *is renewed for a third season.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The success of *The Agency *might make Jez & John-Henry Butterworth the next big creative minds for Paramount+, especially since one of them has contributed to another of the streamer’s hit series. Jez Butterworth is also serving as the showrunner for MobLand, the Guy Ritchie-produced crime drama starring Tom Hardy as a fixer for a prominent crime family. While *MobLand *was hit with rumors that Hardy might depart the series after its upcoming second season, those rumors were quickly put to rest as Paramount representatives said that his return was being “creatively worked through.” Should *MobLand *return to the same level of critical acclaim as its debut season, it could secure a future renewal for The Agency.
In a time when spy thrillers are starting to become more common on TV, *The Agency *stands out thanks to its ability to adapt between seasons. A potential third season could keep up the momentum and cement the series as must-watch TV in the vein of Yellowstone.
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Paramount+ with Showtime
Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth
Joe Wright, Zetna Fuentes, Neil Burger