'The Agency' Still Moving Forward at Showtime
Michael Fassbender as George Abernethie in Agatha Christie's Poirot Season 10 Episode 3
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The never-ending, slow-rolling disaster at Paramount Studios continues despite the hope that the troubled studio would have landed a buyer or at least a rescue plan by now. Main shareholder Shari Redstone was 90% to closing a deal that would have sold the holding company National Amusements to David Ellison before she blew it up at the finish line. The stock crashed, and discussions are underway to see what happens next. However, Paramount+ is trying to act as if it's business as usual, moving forward with projects it scooped up when Showtime was folded into it in 2023, like The Department, which has now been retitled The Agency.
At the time, the deal's headliners were spinoffs of Showtime hits like Billions and Dexter (okay, former Showtime hits). The Department was billed as a show in the vein of Showtime's recently ended Homeland, loosely based on the French series The Bureau (Le Bureau des Legendes). The series then sat on the shelf until March 2024, when Jez and John-Henry Butterworth were brought on to write the first ten-episode season and Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice) to direct at least the first two installments.
Unsurprisingly, with a creative team on board, the series has moved from its original working title to the more official The Agency. The series has also cast its headliner, Michael Fassbender, to draw in viewers, and much like the last couple of Showtime series that wound up on Paramount+, it's looking like this will be an actor showcase vehicle for him.
The show's synopsis is as follows:
Based on The Bureau, which focused on the division of France’s external security service responsible for training and handling deep-cover agents over the course of long-term missions, The Agency focuses on a CIA agent who’s ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites. His career, real identity, and mission are pitted against his heart, hurling them into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.
Currently, Fassbender is the only cast member confirmed; more will be announced in due course.
The Butterworths, Wright, and Fassbender are executive producers along with George Clooney and Grant Heslov via their Smokehouse Pictures; Keith Cox and Nina L. Diaz of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios; David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin and Bob Yari of 101 Studios; Alex Berger for TOP-The Originals Productions; and Ashley Stern and Pascal Breton for Federation Studios/Federation Entertainment of America.
The Agency is currently listed by Paramount+ as part of their 2024 debut schedule. We'll see.
