We are living in a golden age of TV. Succession is the closest thing we’ve got to Shakespeare. The whole of The Sopranos is on Prime Video. And yet it seems that there is also still significant appetite for the kind of brain-melting drivel that is so simultaneously gripping and insubstantial that it’s as addictive, and unfulfilling, as a drug.
I’ve drawn this conclusion from Netflix’s first full report on its viewing figures, which comes after the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes in which streamers’ lack of transparency when issuing royalties was a key issue. Of course, we should view Netflix’s report on its own success with some degree of scepticism – yet it hasn’t come from thin air that in the first half of this year, 812 million hours were spent watching The Night Agent, a political thriller created by Netflix. (In second place was comedy-drama Ginny and Georgia at 665 million hours, and The Glory, the South Korean thriller about a woman taking revenge on her school bully, was in third at 663 million.)
The Night Agent is not going to become a canonical work of the golden age. It is a slick, high-budget, purpose-built, bingeable drama heavy on exposition and light on – well, basically everything else. It follows Peter Sutherland, an FBI agent who works in the basement of the White House as a “night agent” – answering emergency calls about matters of terrorism and spies. He becomes embroiled with Rose Larkin, a conveniently attractive young woman with a gloriously made-up sounding name staying at her aunt and uncle’s house when they – also FBI – are hunted down by assassins, and she calls his line.
It soon becomes clear that Rose’s presence was perhaps not entirely coincidental – and she overheard them talking about a mole in the White House. Oh, and a few years previously, Peter saved almost everyone from a bomb on a train, but there’s a conspiracy theory about how maybe he, a White House insider, was involved somehow. Because his dad, who was also an FBI agent, was also accused of being a traitor (Peter is, naturally, very upset about this theory).
Phew. There’s a lot going on here, but of course there’s also nothing going on at all underneath the navy-and-grey colour palette and the shooty-bang guns, sneaky-scare corridors and savey-life action-men. Peter, whose glistening FBI badge occasionally twinkles seductively at us from between his peacoat and his groin, is built like a brick shithouse, and is more than happy to give up his life and run around protecting Rose. Rose isn’t just a damsel in distress, though – she used to run a cyber security company! She did a Ted talk about it! She is, in fact, a girlboss! This may be a clue as to why men with guns keep chasing her!
It is, in every sense, a thoroughly modern tale of goodies and baddies. Security, privacy, terrorism, post-truth – and mistrust in the state. Almost every line contains an element of plot, which propels the show at a monstrously quick pace – perfect for bingeing; not so perfect for paying attention. No matter, because it’s not the end of the world if you miss a couple of clues. It’s really about vibes – fast cars, big brave boys and a lot of extremely good-looking people leafing through papers marked “TOP SECRET”.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t understand the appeal; the success of The Night Agent tells us a huge amount about the state of TV. It’s excruciatingly American – personally I find it difficult to watch anything in which people say “kick your ass” with sincerity – with high production values and an enormous budget. It’s escapist, without being entirely insubstantial, and set up to be absolutely ripped through of a weekend. It sits alongside other Netflix action-thrillers like 24 (also about foiling terrorists), Fubar (with Arnold Schwarzenegger as a retired CIA operative), The Recruit (an early-career CIA lawyer gets in over her head) and even Suits, that early streaming-era power-lawyer soap opera where many of us were first introduced to Meghan Markle. These, just like The Night Agent, are neatly distilled versions of high-stakes, prestigious career environments populated by perfect heroes and vicious villains. It’s also worth noting that hype grows exponentially, and by declaring The Night Agent as its most-watched show, Netflix has just created a lot more demand.
It may be TV’s golden age – but coming up for silver is a whole load of material that slips down like the ultra-processed food we can’t stop eating. Netflix, as always, knows exactly what it’s doing.