Plot: Coming off the explosive events of Season Two, Night Agent Peter Sutherland is called in to track down a young Treasury Agent who fled to Istanbul with sensitive government intel after killing his boss. This kicks off a sequence of events where Peter investigates a dark money network while avoiding its paid assassins, while putting him on a collision course with a relentless journalist. Working together, they uncover buried secrets and old grudges that threaten to bring the government to its knees – and get them both killed in the process.
Review: Netflix original series have been hit-or-miss over the years, with some shows becoming massive pop culture mainstays, while others have been underwhelming at best. In the wake of Stranger Things ending its epic run, the streaming platform has been looking for its next substantial hit. A few years ago, Netflix debuted The Night Agent and The Recruit, two espionage series with very different tones. While The Recruit did not make it past season two, The Night Agent has improved with each new chapter. The third season of the series amps up the action and intensity, continuing directly from where the sophomore season ended. Despite the loss of Lucianne Buchanan as Rose Larkin, The Night Agent is better than ever with new co-star Genesis Rodriguez and the return of familiar characters from the first season as they take on the biggest conspiracy yet.
Season two elevated Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) from answering calls for the Night Action department to a field operative. Pulled back in and reunited with Rose Larkin, the series introduced an illegal intelligence dealer, Jacob Monroe (Louis Herthum), who blackmailed Peter into working for him. Peter’s superiors orchestrated a double agent plan, but only if Rose were sent far away for her own safety. This season begins with Peter playing both sides of his relationship with Monroe, a dangerous game that involves Monroe’s illicit dealings with the newly elected President, Richard Hagan (Ward Horton). As Peter and the Night Action team try to discover Monroe’s true identity, Peter connects with reporter Isabel de Leon (Genesis Rodriguez), whose investigation into money laundering, discovered by an analyst (Suraj Sharma), could be the key to revealing the truth. As Peter must once again save the day, his actions defy the sitting President of the United States and could alter the scope of power forever.
The third season of The Night Agent does a damn good job of emulating the best high-pressure moments from shows like 24, delivering them in a propulsive mystery full of shocks and twists throughout the entire ten-episode run. The series spends a great deal of time with Peter actively in the field investigating various leads that lead to fist or gunfights, as well as car chases. The action is intense and features some of the best stuntwork this series has yet to feature. The story also spends a great deal of time within the confines of the White House as President Hagan and his wife (Jennifer Morrison) deal with the political ramifications of what is going on. The White House scenes allow for the return of Secret Service agent Chelsea Arrington (Fola Evans-Akingbola), whom we last saw briefly at the end of season two. Splitting time between Washington, DC, and the globe-trotting Peter, The Night Agent never ceases to keep the momentum at a high speed. The series also gives Peter a partner, Adam (David Lyons), and a deadly adversary in the assassin known only as The Father (Stephen Moyer).
While I was underwhelmed by the first season of The Night Agent, I found myself enjoying the consistency of the second season even more. I was sad to learn Lucianne Buchanan was not coming back for the third season, but it works out well as the cast changes offer a reset of sorts for the characters around Peter Sutherland. Gabriel Basso has grown to know Peter inside and out, and this season offers more glimpses into his past and his formative years. Last season focused on his father’s traitorous past, and this year, we learn more about his relationship with his mother. The change also gives Gabriel more opportunities to portray Peter as a full agent rather than a rookie or someone’s partner, which helps build his prowess. It also works that the writers do not force Genesis Rodriguez’s Isabel to be a new love interest for Peter, but a colleague and friend who has her own set of skills, which are vital to uncovering the plot at the core of the season. I am also glad to see Fola Evans-Akingbola get a lot more to do compared to her dialogue-heavy role in the first season.
Series creator and showrunner Shawn Ryan (The Shield) did not script any episodes this season and instead handed over writing duties to Munis Rashid, Anayat Fakhraie, Seth Fisher, Eileen Myers, Corey Deshon, Imogen Browder, Andres Smith, and Aiyana White. Five of those writers have worked on the first two seasons of the series and have once again crafted believable, realistic characters who defy cliches and stereotypes. Guy Ferland and Adam Arkin return to direct the first four episodes of the season, with Paric Barclay, Hiromi Kamata, and Billy Gierhart on the remaining six. The filmmakers do solid work in giving this series a cinematic feel through location shoots and high-quality production values, keeping The Night Agent looking and feeling like a long-form movie rather than a television series. By keeping a mix of veterans who have worked on the prior seasons and newcomers with deep experience directing and writing for the small screen, Netflix and Shawn Ryan have found a balance that allows The Night Agent to finally hit a stride that works better than the first two seasons combined.
The Night Agent is a great example of popcorn entertainment that can be enjoyed without caveats or disclaimers. This series is well-written and action-packed, never succumbing to genre tropes, and it drives the story. Gabriel Basso has come into his own in this role, and it shows that he and the character are evolving in lockstep. There are a few detours in the plot this season and a surprisingly cliffhanger-free ending that sets up a fourth season while also bringing this chapter of the story to a satisfying close. The Night Agent has never tried to one-up itself in scale or scope, but has season after season focused on honing the story to make it more propulsive and worth investing in. As a three-season arc, The Night Agent has come full circle but is nowhere near the end of the line. While Netflix renewed The Night Agent for a third season before the second debuted, I am convinced the reception for this new batch of episodes will secure a fourth season for Peter Sutherland and the Night Action team.
The Night Agent’s third season premieres on February 19th on Netflix.
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