Written by: Alessandra Motisi – Publication date:
Working a night shift is usually very quiet – depending on the job, of course. You are there in case something happens at a time when nothing usually happens. Now, imagine all of this in the basement of the White House, awaiting 911 calls from spies. It will be more intense, of course unless the phone never rings. Until one night it does.
That’s the premise of Netflix’s new action thriller, The Night Agent.
Click on the image to enlarge it.
The starting material
The TV series is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Matthew Quirkwhich the showrunner and executive producer Shawn Ryan read at the start of the quarantine in 2020. Well, “light” may not be the right word, since he claims to have it literally “devoured”:
“If you like the Jack Ryan books, the Jack Reacher books, if you like the Bourne Identity stuff, if you like political intrigue, then The Night Agent is for you”.
The lead agent is Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Low), whom Ryan describes as “the least important person working in a very important place”. That is until a phone call from terrified civilian Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan) – a CEO whose uncles have been murdered – shakes things up.
But don’t expect any James Bond-style superspy action:
“Peter doesn’t exist in the novel as some sort of unbeatable superheroic killing machine. He’s an FBI agent, so he has some training, but he’s not Jason Bourne. He’s not a trained killer”he claims Ryan. “He really is a prey in the midst of all this. He’s someone who, when he’s in combat, those bruises stay with him for a long time. It’s not like he miraculously heals right after”.
Below, all the known information on the TV series.
The plot
During a normal train journey, FBI agent Peter Sutherland single-handedly saves hundreds of lives: Peter realizes that a bomb has been detonated in the train, manages to stop the vehicle and quickly carry the passengers to safety.
The agent is then given a position in the White House, where he is tasked with operating an emergency phone thanks to his brave actions. This is definitely a tedious job because even if the phone does ring, Peter’s job is just to route the calls to the troubleshooting group.
Meanwhile, one evening Peter is contacted by Rose Larkin, a helpless civilian. When Rose calls him, a masked assailant attacks her, prompting the officer to rush to her home and save her.
Next, Peter is tasked with keeping Rose safe by all means possible as he becomes embroiled in a complicated conspiracy. Peter and Rose also have to fight for their lives as killers follow them wherever they go, and they can’t rely on anyone as they search for the truth.
Second the official synopsis released by the platform, “Based on the novel by Matthew Quirk, The Night Agent is a sophisticated, character-driven action thriller that centers on a low-level FBI agent working in the basement of the White House, manning a telephone that never rings, until the night he does, quickly propelling him into a lethal conspiracy involving a mole in the White House.”.
Cast and characters
Netflix revealed the main cast of The Night Agent, sharing a brief insight into the characters they will play.
- Gabriel Low – Peter Sutherland, an FBI agent who works in the basement of the White House, manning an emergency hotline for American spies. When a phone call comes in from a terrified civilian, Rose Larkin, Peter must protect Rose and work with her to uncover the conspiracy that threatens to upend the nation;
- Luciane Buchanan – Rose Larkin, a struggling young CEO who has retreated to her uncles’ home to reevaluate her life. When killers arrive at the home of her relatives, she Rose discovers they weren’t who they pretended to be and, barely managing to escape, she finds Peter and tries to save her life;
- Hong Chau – Diane Farr, powerful Chief of Staff to the President and loyal advocate;
- Sarah Desjardins – Maddie Redfield, teenage daughter of the vice president who tries to escape his shadow;
- Fola Evans-Akingbola – Chelsea Arrington, the tireless head of security for the vice president’s daughter, who supervises a group of agents;
- Eve Harlow – Ellen, an unpredictable assassin whose impulses come with a price;
- Enrique Murciano – Ben Almora, the measured and firm hand that guides the secret services in the White House;
- Phoenix Ray – Dale, Ellen’s partner, in violence and love;
- DB Woodside – Erik Monks, who returns to the Secret Service after a long hiatus, ready to regain the trust and respect of the institution he serves.
The protagonists will play alongside, among others:
- Tobey Levin – Nathan Briggs;
- Philip Prajoux -David Cullen;
- Andres Collantes – Jeff Richards;
- Curtis Lum – Cisco Jenkins;
- Andre Anthony – Matteo
- Jessie Liang – Valerie;
- Alex Rose – Liam;
- Adam Tsekhman – Omar Zadar;
- Allan Luna;
- Richard Harmon – Elliot Rome;
- Sarah Peguero – Abby;
- Paolina Van Kleve – Harper;
- Ronald Patrick Thompson – Mark Hale;
- Todd Matthews – Eli Sommers, Secret Service agent;
- Simone Kessell – Emma.
Episodes, release date and trailer
The Night Agent will consist of 10 episodes – whose titles have not yet been revealed – that they will debut on Netflix on March 23rd.
Below, the trailers released by the streaming platform channels.
