Michael Fassbender’s fantastic spy thriller show gets S2 first look

The first season is streaming now, while 10 new episodes are coming very soon.

A remake of France’s The Bureau – widely considered one of the country’s best-ever shows – the English-language version on Paramount+ sees the Irish Oscar-nominee play Martian, a covert CIA agent.

The first season follows Martian as he is suddenly ordered to abandon his undercover work in Ethiopia after six years and return to the agency’s London base of operations.

His superiors (played by Jeffrey Wright and Richard Gere) tell him to sever all ties he had in the African country. The agent, however, breaches protocol when Samia (Jodie Turner-Smith) - a woman whom he met and fell in love with in Ethiopia - appears in London.

Amidst all this, Martian is tasked with preparing a younger agent (Saura Lightfoot-Leon) for undercover work, and also becomes entangled in a top-secret operation the agency is running in Ukraine.

Watch the trailer for The Agency S1 here:

Boasting a star-studded cast (also including Dominic West, Hugh Bonneville, Katherine Waterston and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), stylish direction and tons of gripping spy intrigue, The Agency was quickly renewed for season two.

Premiering next month on Paramount+, the plot synopsis for the new batch of episodes reads: "Samia, Martian's lover, is a political prisoner in Sudan, and he will do anything to try to save her, even past the point of treachery.

"The only way out is deeper in. A knife-edge Martian must walk if he is to save love, life, and his mission."

Watch the trailer for The Agency S2 here:

Last year, JOE had the chance to chat with one of The Agency's main cast members, John Magaro, as he was promoting his brilliantly tense new journalism thriller film September 5 (which you can read about right here).

Magaro plays one of the spy thriller show's best characters, Owen. Functioning as the extremely serious show's much-needed comic relief, Owen is a mostly desk-bound CIA case officer who eventually finds himself forced to enter the field.

At the time, we asked Magaro what might be in store for the character in season two, to which he replied that he did not yet know, as he had not received the scripts yet.

The actor did state that he was sure Owen would have more adventures. He also expressed hope that the character will evolve into a savvier handler while keeping his humour intact, something we'd like to see as well.

Magaro told us: "Next season, I don't know what's going to happen. I haven't gotten the scripts yet. I'm sure Owen will have some more adventures, and I hope we get to see him grow into a more savvy handler but retain his sense of humour.

"I liked that in the first season, he went from so befuddled to kind of taking the reins a little bit more confidently.

"I'm excited to see the scripts. I'm excited to see where it goes."

As for working with Fassbender, Magaro had only kind words for his Irish co-star.

"He's fantastic. He's such a great actor, but he's also just a good guy," he told JOE.

"It's a really fun set. We have a good time joking around and having fun on that show. He plays a very serious character on that show, but he's just a very sweet guy."

All 10 episodes of The Agency Season 2 will be released on Paramount+ on 21 June.