There’s always hesitation when starting a show in its second season. The Agency is one of the rare cases where that hesitation isn’t warranted. New viewers can jump straight into Season 2, premiering all episodes on Sunday, June 21, 2026, on Paramount+, and land without missing a beat.
Michael Fassbender plays Martian, a deep-cover CIA operative whose professional and personal lives have long since stopped being separable. Writers Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth return alongside executive producers including Grant Heslov. The new season brings fresh characters, shifting loyalties, and escalating stakes that naturally draw new viewers into the story alongside returning viewers.
Key facts
- You do not need to watch The Agency Season 1 before starting The Agency Season 2
- Season 2 premieres Sunday, June 21, 2026, exclusively on Paramount+
- All 10 episodes are released at once for binge-watching
- Season 2 introduces new characters and fresh conflicts that help hook new viewers
Why now is the right time to start watching
The Agency Season 2 introduces new characters and shifting dynamics, so the story naturally reorients itself, even for viewers coming in fresh. The emotional stakes are easy to grasp, and, setting itself apart from many long-running spy franchises, What makes The Agency different from other spy dramas is that the show focuses on character rather than the overall plot. That’s what makes it easy to walk into, and hard to walk away from.
What you need to know about the story
In The Agency, Martian (Michael Fassbender) is a CIA operative assigned to London Station who has spent his career living lives that don’t belong to him. When he reconnects with Dr. Samia Zahir (Jodie Turner-Smith), a woman he fell in love with during a previous assignment, the walls he built between his work and his heart start to crumble.
Season 2 picks up with the fallout from that unraveling. Martian enters the new season compromised and under suspicion, as a mole hunt inside London Station throws every relationship into question. The tension is less about what happens next and more about what everything is costing him.
Spoiler recap: Where things stand heading into Season 2
SPOILER ALERT: This section contains Season 1 spoilers!
The Agency Season 1 wraps up like so: While Martian is recovering from a successful high-stakes mission in Ukraine, he learns that Samia is being held prisoner and tortured – and that the only way to save her is to agree to work as a double agent. He’ll save the woman he loves, but only by secretly turning on his country.
Martian’s driving force in Season 1 continues as a throughline in Season 2: protect Samia at all costs. Season 2 picks up with that choice fully in play, with Martian operating on two sides simultaneously, and carrying a secret that could unravel everything around him.
Where to watch
The Agency Season 2 premieres Sunday, June 21, 2026, exclusively on Paramount+. All 10 episodes are available at once with either a Paramount+ Essential or a Paramount+ Premium subscription plan. If you decide to start from the beginning before the new season premieres, Season 1 is currently streaming on Paramount+ across all plans.
FAQ
Do I need to watch Season 1 before Season 2?
No. The Agency Season 2 introduces a new conflict, characters, and pressure, allowing first-time viewers to follow the story without prior context. If you want to watch Season 1 to get the full picture after investing in the new season, it’s available to stream on Paramount+.
What is The Agency about?
The Agency is a Paramount+ original drama adapted from the French series Le Bureau des Légendes. It follows Martian, a CIA officer whose past has left him emotionally exposed. The series treats espionage as a psychological and personal crisis as much as an operational one, showing tension built through relationships and choices rather than full-force action.
Who stars in the series?
Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs) leads the cast as Martian, alongside Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction), Richard Gere (Primal Fear), Jodie Turner-Smith, and Katherine Waterston. Season 2 also adds Christian Ochoa Lavernia (Silo), Clayne Crawford (Chad Powers), Keanush Tafreshi (V/H/S/99), Medalion Rahimi (Hacks), Raza Jaffrey (Homeland), and Tessa Ferrer (Swagger).
Is The Agency based on another show?
Yes. The Agency is adapted from Le Bureau des Légendes, a French espionage drama that built a devoted international following for its psychologically grounded take on intelligence work. The Agency maintains a similarly grounded tone in its CIA-set, which doesn’t stray too far from the original.
The Agency
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