There’s no shortage of intrigue and action in the new season of Netflix espionage thriller The Night Agent
Who is the real bad guy in The Night Agent? To those unfamiliar with the drama, the question points to several shifting plots and potential double-crosses within the storyline. For those who’ve been following along with the series and patiently awaiting the arrival of the second season, this question comes across as completely understandable given that the series, per Netflix, is “filled with baddies.”
Based on the novel of the same name by American journalist and New York Times bestselling author Matthew Quirk, The Night Agent follows Peter Sutherland (played on screen by Gabriel Basso), a low-level FBI agent who “works in the basement of the White House, manning a phone that never rings.” One evening, however, the phone does ring, prompting Sutherland to take on a case so big it would impact the entire country.

As the first season revealed, the basement phone is tied to “an emergency line for undercover spies” — and when Sutherland answers the call, he hears a woman’s voice explain that a double homicide has just taken place and she fears she may be next. Springing into action to protect the civilian who somehow managed to find the night agents’ helpline, what followed was an action-packed season filled with assassination attempts, double-crosses, brazen attacks, mistaken identities, terrorist plots and oh so much running.
“Imagine All the President’s Men with car chases,” series creator Shawn Ryan (The Shield) tells Netflix’s Tudum. “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.”

On the note of “political intrigue,” the spy series holds nothing back. With all the twists and turns of a good murder mystery and shady, motivated characters akin to House of Cards and Game of Thrones, The Night Agent all but urges viewers not to get too attached to any one character. While audiences now know who committed the D.C. Metro bombing, matters become far more sinister when it is revealed that others have been pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The new season dives into an increasingly shadowy world. After Peter’s success, he has earned the opportunity to work in the secretive organization Night Action, which pushes him “into a world where danger is everywhere and trust is in short supply” (per Netflix).
“There are people here who make bad choices for what they think are the right reasons,” Ryan explains. “But that’s a slippery slope that leads to increased bad decisions, where suddenly you look up and . . . you’ve lost your soul.”
Peter is trying very hard not to lose his soul, despite everything around him pushing toward the contrary. As the first season closes, main characters have been shot and/or killed, parents are using their children as political pawns and innocent bystanders have lost their lives in the proverbial (albeit sometimes literal) crossfire. Needless to say, it was anyone’s guess as to who would be returning for the second season. That said, returning actors include Luciane Buchanan as emergency-line caller Rose Larkin and Fola Evans-Akingbola as Secret Service agent Chelsea Arrington. Joining the cast this season is Amanda Warren as Catherine, who’s described as a “veteran of the top-secret Night Action investigative program who trains and oversees various Night Agents.”
In an earlier interview with Deadline, Ryan sang the praises of star Basso, describing him as the quintessential leading man. “Those guys are hard to find,” Ryan admitted. “By the way, we didn’t have to go to Australia or England to find him. He is the St. Louis kid. I’ve said it for years — the hardest thing to do is find a true leading guy in his 20s, and I think we found him. Hopefully it’s on this show but even if it’s not, he’s the real deal, and he’s going to be a star. I think it’s going to be on The Night Agent but he’s got big things in his future.”
The Night Agent, streaming on Netflix