
Movies & TV
Share
Published 19:45 12 Feb 2025 GMT
Updated 19:49 29 May 2026 BST

One of JOE's favourite TV shows of recent memory is The Agency, the spy series starring Irish actor Michael Fassbender streaming on Paramount+.
A remake of France’s The Bureau – widely considered one of the country’s best-ever shows – the English-language version sees the 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.
While his superiors (played by Jeffrey Wright and Richard Gere) tell him to sever all ties he had in Ethiopia, Martian breaches protocol when the woman (Jodie Turner-Smith) whom he met and fell in love with in the African country shows up in London.
Amidst all this, Martian is also tasked with preparing a younger agent (Saura Lightfoot-Leon) for undercover work.
Meanwhile, the disappearance of a CIA agent in Belarus may compromise a top-secret operation the agency is running in Ukraine.
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.
And JOE had the chance to chat with one of the series' 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 Agency'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.
We asked Magaro what's in store for the character in season two, to which he replied that he does not yet know as he has not received the scripts yet.
He did state he was sure that Owen would have more adventures and that he hopes 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:
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."
Read more:
"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."

The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 118
Film Club

Watch this legendary war movie on TV tonight
Movies & TV
JOE.ie Irish Movie TV Listings October 1 October to Monday 5 October
With JOE’s new column, you’ll never miss a movie airing on TV again. Out of all these films available on Irish TV, my pick of the week is… The Substance. For anyone who has ever stumbled upon one of JOE’s daily ‘movie on TV’ articles too late, this is the column for you. We are […]
Movies & TV
20h
Watch one of the best ever war movies is on TV tonight
The film won four Oscars, including Best Picture. Our TV movie pick for tonight (Thursday, 1 October) is Platoon, the 1986 war film that won several Oscars. Set during the Vietnam War, the story follows a young, naive American man named Chris (Charlie Sheen) who enlists in the US Army. Once he is on the […]
Movies & TV
21h
Movies & TV
Watch this classic Robert De Niro movie on TV tonight
Movies & TV