Paramount+ has a spy thriller series that perfectly blends Jason Bourne and James Bond, and the streaming service deserves credit for this hit multi-season show. In the last few years, with the streaming age, several espionage shows have become popular. Apple TV’s Slow Horses is frequently cited as an example to be followed by the rest of the genre on the small screen.

Slow Horses has plenty of intrigue and drama with complex characters and a gritty atmosphere. The show has also perfected the streaming release model, adhering to an annual schedule, different from several high-profile shows. However, it does not stand as the perfect mix of two of the biggest spy movie franchises of all time, which are James Bond and Jason Bourne.

There is no question that James Bond is the most iconic spy in fiction. Right now, all eyes are on who Dune franchise director Denis Villeneuve will cast as the next James Bond to replace Daniel Craig in the role. As for Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, it was the success of that grounded and gritty spy franchise that urged Bond to leave behind its cheesier elements.

Paramount+’s The Agency, which stars Michael Fassbender as a spy with the codename Martian, has become one of the spy thriller genre’s best shows in recent years. The Agency has aired two successful seasons so far, with a 3rd seemingly on the way. Paramount+ managed to craft the perfect mix of James Bond and Jason Bourne with Fassbender’s The Agency.

How Paramount+’s The Agency Is James Bond Meets Jason Bourne

The Agency follows Fassbender as Martian, a CIA officer who has returned to London Station after years on a sensitive undercover mission. However, when he comes back home, trouble follows, and Martian’s two lives come crashing together. The Agency season 1 debuted on Paramount+ on December 1, 2024, while season 2 dropped all of its 10 episodes on the same day this year, on June 21. I believe that it is easy to see how The Agency and Damon’s Jason Bourne franchise connect. Both play with the intrigue and paranoia that is typical of spy thrillers. Martian and Bourne feel alone.

Not only that, but danger comes from all sides. In the Jason Bourne movies, the government molds him into the perfect assassin, then tries to find and kill him when Bourne wants to recover his memories and find out who he really is. In The Agency, Martian’s time undercover leads to essentially two people living within the same man, and that starts to bleed into his work upon returning home, as Martian has to wrestle with which version of his life he values the most, and what he will compromise to make sure that he gets to live that life.

Like the Jason Bourne movies, Paramount+’s The Agency is grounded in realism, with a dark atmosphere, and a slow-burn, psychological approach to characters and storylines. As for how Fassbender’s hit spy thriller series compares to the iconic James Bond franchise, that comes in a few different ways. One of the main connections between those is the fact that the action goes through an intelligence agency. While Damon’s Jason Bourne is all alone, Fassbender’s Martian only feels that way, as he is part of a packed CIA London Station. That comes with characters like Jeffrey Wright’s Henry Ogletree, an M-like figure.

Both The Agency and the James Bond franchise have a global scope and deal with a lead character who is both part of a well-built system, but will also take actions directly against orders if they think it has the best chance of succeeding. Finally, much like Vesper Lynd was for Craig’s Bond, Sami Zahir offers a complicated romantic relationship to Fassbender’s Martian, in both cases putting the spies’ loyalty to the test. Based on all those elements, Paramount+ deserves credit for making The Agency the perfect mix between Bond and Bourne.

Release Date

December 1, 2024

Network

Paramount+ with Showtime

Showrunner

Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth

Directors

Joe Wright, Zetna Fuentes, Neil Burger