The action-thrillers are streaming thick and fast on Netflix. I mean, there’s “Unseen”, which I highly recommend if you haven’t seen it as yet; “Beef”, which has been touted as one of the best TV series of the year (and one I have yet to watch); and, last but not least, “Designated Survivor”.
The other show that has streamers raving about it is “The Night Agent”, which has been trending as a Top 10 show on Netflix.
This 10-part spy series doesn’t hold back on the suspense or action either. In fact, it packs the same punch as big screen hits like “White House Down”, “Olympus Has Fallen”, and “Vantage Point”.
Based on the novel of the same title by Matthew Quirk, this slick espionage thriller centres on a low-level FBI Agent - Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) - who has a few hangups about clearing his dead father’s name about being a corrupt agent.
The stigma of being his son has cast a dark shadow over Peter’s career.
And he is grateful to Diane Farr (Hong Chau), the White House chief of staff, for taking him under her wing. Even when a heroic act of him saving the lives of a train full of US citizens from a bomb threat goes pear-shaped, Diane backs him.
Little does Peter realise at the time, though, how the very disaster he prevented will play into a bigger conspiracy involving the top brass in the Oval Office.
And it starts with a phone call from a panicked Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan), the niece of two Night Action agents who are killed in a surprise attack.
The young cyber-security entrepreneur manages to escape, but she is hunted by paid assassins who can’t afford to have a witness testify to the crime.
Peter steps in to get Rose to safety but soon realises that there are more powerful forces at play, and it is coming from the White House.
With Peter realising that the corruption runs deep and he can’t trust anyone, Rose and he starts investigating the case on their own.
And this leads them to Chelsea Arrington (Fola Evans-Akingbola), an ambitious US Secret Service agent who leads the protective detail for Maddie Redfield (Sarah Desjardins), who is the daughter of the Vice President (Christopher Shyer).
While they aren’t entirely sure how the dots connect, they know it does.
But with every step they make, they find themselves in the crosshairs of Ellen (Eve Harlow) and her ruthless hitman, beau Dale (Phoenix Raei).
Who is behind the guns for fire? And how does the train bombing incident tie in with what is happening?
The picture starts becoming a lot clearer when Maddie is kidnapped, and the house of cards at the Oval Office becomes unstable as everyone tries to ensure they have their tracks covered.
Even though the series isn’t anchored by big names, it is a hit with audiences. Basso and Buchanan carry the show with confidence and gravitas.
The casting, which includes familiar faces like DB Woodside (“Lucifer”) as Erik Monks, a veteran US Secret Service agent newly assigned to Maddie’s detail, and Kari Matchett (“Covert Affairs”) as President Travers, is spot-on as each actor brings something unique to the table.
The series is slick and fast-paced. Think along the lines of “24” meets “The Blacklist”. The writers have done a stellar job in planting twists that guarantee every episode ends on a cliffhanger.
“The Night Agent” is a melting pot of deception, danger, violence and cover-ups. And the intensity of the series is softened by a sprinkling of romance and friendship.
∎“The Night Agent” is streaming on Netflix.