Michael Fassbender and Katherine Waterston are teasing an intense second season of the espionage thriller The Agency, now streaming on Paramount+. Adapted from Eric Rochant's French series The Bureau, the show follows Martian (Fassbender), a deep-cover CIA operative forced to abandon his secret life and return to London. His mission unravels when the woman he left behind, played by Jodie Turner-Smith, reappears as a political prisoner in Sudan.
Season 2 Promises a Thrilling Ride
Fassbender described the 10-episode season as a unique experience. “It’s a roller-coaster inside a haunted house,” he said, laughing. Waterston, who co-starred with Fassbender in Steve Jobs and Alien: Covenant, compared it to Disney's Tower of Terror. “The second season is like that happening every few minutes. The elevator goes up and up and then just plummets. You’ll have enough time to catch your breath, before the bottom falls out,” she joked.
Fassbender, an executive producer alongside George Clooney, became hooked on the original series during lockdown. “I was always curious what I could do with that character, Martian,” he said. When the English-language remake came his way, he was drawn to the scripts by Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth (Ford v Ferrari, Edge of Tomorrow).
Character Dynamics and Secret Agendas
Martian's plan to rescue his lover faces mounting pressure, while secondary characters—including handler Naomi (Waterston), and Richard Gere and Jeffrey Wright as Bosko and Henry—pursue their own secret agendas. Waterston praised her role's complexity. “I just love how weird and unexpected my character is,” she said. “If you have a puzzle to solve, that’s refreshing.”
The series marks the third collaboration between Waterston and Fassbender. Waterston noted the comfort of working together again. “It reminds me of the old studio system where you get to return to working with the same people. There’s a shorthand and a relaxation that comes from that,” she said.
Fassbender recalled their earlier projects. On Steve Jobs, he said, “That was a stressful job for me, and it was an intense period.” But on Alien: Covenant, he was impressed by Waterston's lead performance. “She had an original take on playing that part. It wasn’t the usual path you would take with that kind of character. I thought she was the real deal.”
A Strong Partnership Continues
Waterston’s addition to the cast ensured the series was “in good shape,” according to Fassbender. “When I watched Season 1, there was a real intelligence in how Katherine’s character was being pieced together. Then in Season 2, it was, ‘Wow, OK, now it’s starting to evolve.'”
The actors did not discuss the unresolved cliffhanger from Alien: Covenant, which hinted at a third prequel that never materialized. “We didn’t, actually. We talked very fondly about that experience and working with Ridley (Scott),” Fassbender said. “But one of the first scenes we shot in this, we sort of looked at each other, and said, ‘Here we are again.'”
The Agency Season 2 is now streaming on Paramount+.
