The first thriller you should watch on Paramount+ is ‘The Agency’
The first thriller you should watch on Paramount+ is ‘The Agency’
Michael Fassbender leads a sleek, slow-burn spy drama that feels built for bingeing.
If you just signed up for Paramount+ and you’re looking for something smart, tense, and hard to stop watching from the first episode, I’ve got your show. Paramount+ has a solid bench of thrillers, but the one series that really feels like the platform hitting the bullseye in prestige espionage is “The Agency.” This show launched with huge numbers, got renewed almost immediately, and feels very clearly like a statement series for the service. If you want a thriller that’s sleek, intense, and just complicated enough to make you turn the subtitles on so you don’t miss a word, “The Agency” is the first thriller you should watch when you sign up for Paramount+.
Top thriller TV show to stream first when you sign up for Paramount+
Why ‘The Agency’ is the must-watch thriller on Paramount+
“The Agency” delivers the exact tone you want from this kind of show right from the start. Season 1 opens with a deep-cover CIA operative being pulled back to London after years undercover, and from there it just tightens the screws. Now, remember this is prestige, so there’s no flashy gadget overload or cartoon villains like you’ll find in the James Bond movies (which I also love). It’s all about tradecraft, secrets, and the slow realization that nobody in the room is telling the whole truth. It feels closer to a John le Carré novel than an action movie, and that’s very much the point.
In addition to the tone, the cast is a huge part of why it works. Michael Fassbender plays the undercover operative at the center of it all with this quiet, tightly controlled intensity that makes you lean in. Jeffrey Wright brings this steady, watchful energy as his superior, and Richard Gere shows up as a veteran station chief with just enough edge to keep everyone off balance. Nobody is chewing scenery here. Everyone feels grounded, and you fully believe these people could actually be running the world from behind glass conference rooms.
The other thing I really like about this show is that it trusts you. It doesn’t over-explain anything. It doesn’t simplify geopolitics into good versus bad. It leans into the psychological cost of living under aliases and constantly second-guessing loyalty. Part of the influence could be that it’s based on the acclaimed French series “The Bureau,” which is often considered one of the best spy dramas ever made, and you can feel that DNA in every slow-burn reveal.
This show was a hit right out of the gate. The debut pulled in more than five million viewers globally, making it the most-watched new Showtime series launch ever on the platform. And less than a week later, it was renewed for Season 2. Around that same time, Paramount+ posted one of its biggest subscriber jumps in two years, driven in part by shows like this. That tells you this was a prestige event viewing and not just another content drop.
And even with all that prestige weight, it’s still addictive. The deeper you get into Season 1, the more the story starts to interlock in ways that make you immediately hit next episode. There are office politics, missing agents, and old relationships resurfacing at the worst possible time. And by the time the finale hits, you’ll understand exactly why Paramount+ is treating this like one of its most important franchises. And with Taylor Sheridan’s deal expiring at the end of 2028, that makes a lot of sense.
The Agency
Covert CIA agent Martian is ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind unexpectedly reappears, their romance reignites, pitting his career, his real identity and his mission against his heart while hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.
Watch the trailer for ‘The Agency’
What is ‘The Agency’ about?
“The Agency” follows CIA operative Brandon “Martian” Colby, who is abruptly pulled out of a six-year undercover assignment and brought back to the agency’s London station. As he tries to readjust to a life where he can use his real name again, he’s drawn into an investigation involving a missing colleague and some international affairs. The job he thought he left behind quickly proves impossible to escape. At the same time, Martian has to navigate the personal fallout of years spent living under a false identity, especially when someone from his past reappears. It’s layered, deliberate, and built around the idea that in espionage, the most dangerous moves often happen in plain sight.
Other must-stream thriller shows on Paramount+
If “The Agency” pulls you in and you want to stay in that tense, morally gray lane, Paramount+ has some strong follow-ups. “Mayor of Kingstown” leans into prison politics and power struggles in a way that feels gritty and relentless. “Evil” mixes psychological thriller energy with supernatural mystery, and it’s way smarter than you might expect at first glance. And “Rabbit Hole” gives you a fast-moving conspiracy thriller with Kiefer Sutherland constantly one step away from disaster. Together, they show just how deep the thriller bench really is on Paramount+, but if you’re starting somewhere, start with “The Agency.”
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and more. Get free access with a Walmart+ subscription.
Paramount+ includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.