When this show launched in summer 2014 a number of reviewers noted the timing reflected ongoing unrest in the Middle East. It’s a smart, political thriller with a terrific central performance from Maggie Gyllenhaal as a businesswoman turned philanthropist being torn in multiple conflicting directions.
In The New York Times Alessandra Stanley commented that “the show is a lavish homage to John Le Carré – The Honorable Schoolboy in spirit and The Little Drummer Girl in setting”; Time Magazine’s James Poniewozik lavished praise saying, “Writer-director Hugo Blick deals out story relentlessly but makes time for conversations and silences that allow the excellent cast to reveal that their characters are more than they seem at first. Gyllenhaal is remarkable.” The Guardian’s Mark Lawson decided the plot might be too complicated for some – but we presume not for MustWatch readers – “in several scenes, we are cleverly misled about who is in danger and where from – and his knack with spooky visuals. The characters can’t play chess without the pieces falling onto the board in slow motion”.
First shown July 2014. Watch the trailer here.
