---
title: "The Night Agent"
year: 2023
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/the-night-agent"
fi1m_id: "the-night-agent"
imdb_id: "tt13918776"
tmdb_id: 129552
wikidata_id: "Q116909156"
fi1m_score: 64
critics_score: 62
critics_reviews: 10
published: "2026-10-13T21:53:23.191252+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-13T21:53:24.391824+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Night Agent (2023)

Created by Shawn Ryan · MPA TV-MA · Action & Adventure, Drama, Mystery

## Identity

The Night Agent

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/the-night-agent
- **Type:** Series
- **Fi1m ID:** the-night-agent
- **IMDb ID:** tt13918776
- **TMDB ID:** 129552
- **Wikidata ID:** Q116909156
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13918776/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/129552, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116909156

**Fi1m score: 64** · Critics 62 from 10 reviews

*In a sentence:* A phone that never rings rings once, and nobody in Washington sits down for ten hours

> Shawn Ryan’s adaptation of Matthew Quirk’s novel is brisk, decently acted and almost entirely forgettable: a conspiracy thriller that explains itself every ten minutes so you never need to look up from your phone. Gabriel Basso and Hong Chau make it worth half an evening.

## Synopsis

Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) is a junior FBI agent working nights in the basement of the White House, beside a phone that is not supposed to ring. One night it does. On the line is Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan), who has just watched her aunt and uncle attacked in their home and is hiding from the people who did it. Peter is sent to find her, and the two of them are soon running from a pair of killers, Ellen (Eve Harlow) and Dale (Phoenix Raei), who argue like a married couple between jobs. Back in Washington, Diane Farr (Hong Chau) gives Peter his orders and keeps her own counsel, while Secret Service agent Chelsea Arrington (Fola Evans-Akingbola) guards Maddie Redfield (Sarah Desjardins), who would rather not be guarded.

## Review

Shawn Ryan, who made [*The Shield*](https://film.one/tv/the-shield), has built a thriller out of a single good image. Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) sits in the basement of the White House at night beside a phone that is not supposed to ring. It rings. On the line is Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan), whose aunt and uncle have just been attacked in their home, and by the end of the first hour the two of them are running and they do not stop for ten episodes. *The Night Agent* is efficient, well cast and thin. We watched all of the first run in three evenings and a week later could not have told you what the conspiracy was.

Basso is the reason to bother. He plays Peter as a man who has been told no for so long that he has stopped expecting yes: no grin, no quip, a slight stoop at the shoulders even when he is winning a fight. It is a plain, patient performance and the show leans on it more than it seems to know. Buchanan gives Rose more spine than the script writes for her, and the two of them are good together, bickering in cars about who is allowed to drive. Hong Chau, as Diane Farr, the official who sends Peter out and tells him only what he needs, does the most with the least. She never raises her voice and she is the only person on screen we were ever unsure about.

The supporting cast is better than the parts. Fola Evans-Akingbola plays Chelsea Arrington, a Secret Service agent who takes the job seriously in a show where almost nobody else does, and Sarah Desjardins makes Maddie Redfield, the young woman she guards, sulky and sympathetic at once. Eve Harlow and Phoenix Raei, as the killers Ellen and Dale, are the show’s one dry joke: two professionals who bicker about dinner and motel rooms between murders. D. B. Woodside, as Erik Monks, arrives later and brings a tired warmth the series could have used earlier.

The trouble is the writing, and there is a lot of it. A dozen writers are credited across the run, Ryan among them, and the result is dialogue that tells you everything twice. A character learns a thing; in the next scene they tell another character the thing; in the scene after that the second character tells a third. Every episode ends on a door opening or a gun raised, and the next begins by explaining why. Ten directors are credited, Seth Gordon and Ana Lily Amirpour among them, and we could not have told you where one handed over to the next: the show has one look, grey offices and orange night streets, and keeps it. Robert Duncan’s score is a low throb under the chases and a stab at each cliffhanger, and it does what it is asked and nothing more.

Here is what we felt. The first episode had us. The phone, the house in the dark, Rose crouched in a room while men moved through the one below: we sat forward and we were glad to. Somewhere around the sixth hour we noticed we were looking at our own phone while one character explained the plot to another who had been standing beside them when it happened, and the show had not noticed us leave. We came back for the fights, which are short and well staged, and for Chau, and that was enough to finish. It was not enough to care.

The second run adds Arienne Mandi as Noor Taheri, and the third does much the same again with new faces. The reviews for each run say what they said for the first, which is the point: it is the same show every time, and it is built to be.

*The Shield* was full of people who were wrong and knew it. Here everyone is either decent or a traitor, and the only question is which column each name goes in. Watch it the way it is made to be watched, two episodes at a time with something else in your hand, and it will do its job. Ask it to hold your whole attention and it will not. It carries a 15.

*Fi1m score 64, published 13 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics find The Night Agent brisk, bingeable and rather more fun than a conspiracy thriller of this kind usually manages. Six of the ten reviews are positive, and the praise gathers around pace and performance. Gabriel Basso is credited with giving a potentially one-note lead some depth, Hong Chau with bringing elegance and strength to hers, and the second season earns particular notice for Arienne Mandi’s grounded turn as Noor. The action scenes are consistently well regarded in the later seasons.

The reservations are about familiarity. Several reviews fault the exposition, the occasionally weak dialogue and a thin political world, and complain that the plotting repeats things audiences have seen before. The spread is wide. The i Paper dismisses the series as shallow and overstuffed while conceding it is hard to stop watching, and Consequence objects to the second season’s ending, which separates the two leads just when their partnership is the show’s main appeal.

## Straight answers

**Is The Night Agent worth watching?**

*The Night Agent* is worth half an evening for anyone who wants a brisk conspiracy thriller that asks nothing of them, and we scored it 64. Gabriel Basso and Hong Chau are the reasons to bother; the writing explains everything twice and a week later we could not say what the conspiracy was. Watch it two episodes at a time with something else in your hand.

**How long is The Night Agent, and what is it rated?**

*The Night Agent* is rated TV-MA by the MPA in the US. It is an action & adventure and drama series.

**Where can I watch The Night Agent in the US?**

*The Night Agent* is streaming on Netflix in the US. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is The Night Agent, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Night Agent* is a 15 in the UK and TV-MA in the US, and it is not for children. The first episode has a couple attacked in their home and a young woman hiding while killers move through the house below, and the fights, though short, are staged to hurt. Teenagers of fifteen and up who are used to action thrillers will find nothing here beyond the usual.

**How does The Night Agent compare to Three Days of the Condor?**

*The Night Agent* is a longer, thinner version of what [*Three Days of the Condor*](https://film.one/film/three-days-of-the-condor) does in two hours: a desk man pulled from a quiet room and chased across a city. The 1975 film is the better of the two, tense and lucid where the series repeats itself to fill ten episodes. Pick the film for a single evening and the series only if you want something to half-watch over a week.

**Is The Night Agent based on a true story or a book?**

*The Night Agent* is based on Matthew Quirk's novel of the same name, adapted for television by Shawn Ryan, and is not a true story. The premise of a junior FBI agent beside a phone that is never meant to ring comes from the book. Knowing the novel is not necessary; the series explains its own plot often enough that nobody arrives behind.

**What should I watch after The Night Agent?**

After *The Night Agent*, try [*Three Days of the Condor*](https://film.one/film/three-days-of-the-condor) (1975, Fi1m 80): The desk man on the run, done once, properly, in two hours. Then [*Bodyguard*](https://film.one/film/the-bodyguard) (2018, Fi1m 63): Richard Madden guards a minister and trusts nobody; tighter and nastier than this; and [*Slow Horses*](https://film.one/tv/slow-horses) (2022, Fi1m 82): Failed spies in a damp London office, and the jokes are better than the plots.

### Reviews we read (10)

- **The AV Club**, Brian Tallerico (B+): Tallerico finds the second season confidently paced and consistently entertaining, though it lacks some of the first season’s escapist spark. He praises Arienne Mandi’s emotionally grounded performance as Noor and the show’s balance of spy plotting with relatable characters. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-night-agent-season-2-review-netflix)
- **The Guardian**, Lucy Mangan (75/100, inferred): Mangan finds the series slick, propulsive fun that delivers more than expected from a political thriller. She particularly praises Gabriel Basso’s performance for giving depth to a potentially one-note role. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/23/the-night-agent-review-this-twisty-political-thriller-is-slicker-than-slick)
- **Variety**, Daniel D’Addario (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the series an engaging, fast-moving political thriller, though it relies on an exposition dump and occasionally weak dialogue. Hong Chau’s performance is singled out for the elegance and strength she brings to the role. [Read](https://variety.com/2023/tv/reviews/the-night-agent-review-1235540207/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Daniel Fienberg (70/100, inferred): Fienberg finds the series fast-moving and reasonably entertaining, though thin in its mystery and political world-building. He praises Gabriel Basso’s effective central performance and notes that the show becomes more tense and absorbing in its second half. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/the-night-agent-review-netflix-1235358918/)
- **Radio Times**, James Hibbs (45/100, inferred): The review finds the series watchable but too familiar to feel fresh. It faults the thriller for repeating ideas audiences have seen before. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-night-agent-netflix-comment/)
- **The i Paper**, Emily Bootle (25/100, inferred): Bootle dismisses the series as shallow, overstuffed entertainment, while conceding its addictive appeal. She particularly criticizes its relentless exposition and action, which make it easy to binge but not rewarding to follow closely. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/the-night-agent-terrible-most-watched-netflix-2806760)
- **Collider**, Nate Richard (B): The critic finds the series engaging and satisfying despite its familiar, predictable conspiracy-thriller plot. He especially praises Hong Chau’s performance and the show’s brisk pacing. [Read](https://collider.com/the-night-agent-netflix-review/)
- **Digital Spy**, David Opie (70/100, inferred): Opie finds season three mostly successful, despite some familiar plotting and a poorly handled returning character. He praises the new women characters and the emotionally grounded performances and fight scenes. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a70324599/night-agent-season-3-review/)
- **The Ringer**, Miles Surrey (68/100, inferred): Surrey finds Season 2 familiar and less inventive, but still an appealing example of accessible, bingeable thriller entertainment. He praises its dynamic action scenes, while faulting the season for barely making use of Bangkok. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2025/01/23/tv/the-night-agent-season-2-episodes-review-netflix-strategy)
- **Consequence**, Liz Shannon Miller (30/100, inferred): The critic finds Season 2’s ending frustrating and unsatisfying, especially its separation of Peter and Rose. She praises the spark and compelling teamwork they bring when they work together, arguing the series is less interesting apart. [Read](https://consequence.net/2025/01/the-night-agent-season-2-netflix-spoilers/)

## Details

- **Created by:** Shawn Ryan
- **Creator:** Shawn Ryan
- **Director:** Guy Ferland, Adam Arkin, Millicent Shelton, Hiromi Kamata, Billy Gierhart, Paris Barclay, Ana Lily Amirpour, Seth Gordon, Ramaa Mosley, Nina Lopez-Corrado
- **Writer:** Munis Rashid, Imogen Browder, Anayat Fakhraie, Corey Deshon, Shawn Ryan, Tiffany Shaw Ho, Seth Fisher, Aiyana White, Eileen Myers, Andres Smith, Rachel Wolf, Lukas Johnson
- **Teleplay:** Shawn Ryan
- **Novel:** Matthew Quirk
- **Music:** Robert Duncan
- **Cast:** Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland; Luciane Buchanan as Rose Larkin; Fola Evans-Akingbola as Chelsea Arrington; Sarah Desjardins as Maddie Redfield; Eve Harlow as Ellen; Phoenix Raei as Dale; Enrique Murciano as Ben Almora; D. B. Woodside as Erik Monks
- **Certificate (MPA):** TV-MA
- **Release (the US):** 23 March 2023
- **Genres:** Action & Adventure, Drama, Mystery
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDbnY9Obsfs

## Where to watch in the US

- Netflix: streaming

*Checked 2026-10-13.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Three Days of the Condor* (1975), Fi1m 80: The desk man on the run, done once, properly, in two hours. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/three-days-of-the-condor.md)
- *Bodyguard* (2018), Fi1m 63: Richard Madden guards a minister and trusts nobody; tighter and nastier than this. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-bodyguard.md)
- *Slow Horses* (2022), Fi1m 82: Failed spies in a damp London office, and the jokes are better than the plots. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/slow-horses.md)
- *The Bureau* (2015): French intelligence as a job with meetings; slow, grown-up and quietly gripping.
- *The Fugitive* (1993), Fi1m 88: Harrison Ford runs, Tommy Lee Jones chases, and nobody explains anything twice. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-fugitive.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/the-night-agent