Becoming The Muse

The Agency Season 2 Review

The Agency is a spy-thriller series created by The Butterworths for Paramount. It is a remake of the French series The Bureau. The series premiered on 29 November 2024 and was renewed for a second season, which was released on 21 June 2026 on Paramount+ as a Paramount+ Original, with a subsequent airing on Paramount+ with Showtime on June 27.

Following the events of Season 1 which ends with the love of his life arrested, Martian does everything he can to save her, at great cost to everyone around him.

The Good

All 10 episodes were released at once, unlike Season 1, which had weekly drops, so it’s perfect for the binge watchers as its slow-burn tension becomes addictive when consumed in chunks.

Michael Fassbender as Martian remains the show’s biggest weapon. His performance is an “acting masterclass,” balancing charm, menace, and vulnerability, aptly captured by Harriet Sansom Harris’s Dr. Rachel Blake

like watching da Vinci paint the Mona Lisa

Martian is torn between love, duty and something darker, where he will get what he wants… but at what cost? Martian does some rather dodgy things but because the narrative structure gives us a bead into his state of mind via the confession he is making to his daughter to justify the things he does, it keeps moral ambiguity anchored.

Season 1 follows a linear path with tightened threads that merge global storylines into a more cohesive arc that converge along a central protagonist, a vast improvement from the first season which had various storylines vying for your attention.

Daniela Acosta, codename ‘Gremlin‘ who is introduced as a new undercover agent in Season 1, finally gets a meaningful arc that hints at becoming a main character in the following seasons.

The Bad

Jodie Turner-Smith’s Samia, a central character in Season 1, is sidelined in Season 2, used only as a plot device, than a fully fleshed character.

Its hailed as slow-paced and intricate, which is code for you will need to have patience, it gets there… eventually. If you are expecting instant action, well, what you get is mostly psychological warfare, suspicion, manipulation and quiet betrayals.

The show feels like it should be better than it is, it has all the elements in place but lands as good instead of great. There’s massive potential for the next seasons to grow into something phenomenal.

The Ugly

The show is an intricate study in the personal cost of spydom, and at its core its basically asking the question…. At What Cost?

But then the show gets so committed to its cold, calculated tone that it forgets to make you feel, maybe that’s the missing ingredient.

Final Thoughts

Season 2 of The Agency is a refined espionage drama with Fassbender at its core, an upgrade with room to be spectacular.

Have you watched this? Does it sound like something you would watch?