- Home
- Movies
- Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender teases return of his action thriller series: 'There will be sacrifice along the way'
❚ We may earn commission from links on this page. Our editorial is always independent (learn more).
Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender teases return of his action thriller series: 'There will be sacrifice along the way'
Fassbender and co-star Katherine Waterston spoke exclusively to Radio Times as the new season launched on Paramount+.
- Clarisse Loughrey
Published: Sunday, 21 June 2026 at 8:00 am
Subscribe to Radio Times: 10 issues for £10
As Paramount+’s star-studded espionage series The Agency launches its second season, actors Michael Fassbender and Katherine Waterston have teased how season one’s game-changing finale revelation has left no one safe and every card on the table.
Ad
The pair are joined by Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, Richard Gere and Hugh Bonneville in Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth’s English-language remake of the French series Le Bureau des Legendes.
Fassbender plays CIA officer “Martian”, who returns to the agency’s London desk after a six-year covert assignment in Ethiopia.
But, while away, he made the mistake of falling in love with Dr Samia Fatima Zahir (Turner-Smith). And, by the end of season 1, he’d agreed to become a double agent for MI6 in return for their efforts to free Samia from imprisonment in Sudan.
This season, he’s a man on a mission.
“There’s an ego involved there,” Fassbender told Radio Times. “He feels like he is going to free her. That’s his goal, that’s the objective for season two. Whatever it takes to get her safe."
Want to see this content?
This page contains content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose 'Accept and continue' to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes.
Accept and continue
But Martian’s treachery – even if it’s his only option to save Samia’s life – not only puts his job at risk, but the secrecy and safety of the entire bureau.
"He's still got an intelligence to him," the actor continued. "He knows, well, I'm digging down this hole now; there's no point turning back. I’ve got to keep digging. I’m going to come out another side somewhere."
"So everything he does makes logical sense. He's got to keep going forward. And, at the same time, there will be sacrifice along the way, in terms of people that work in his office."
"He is going to endanger the lives of people there. But these people, I think, are always dealing with that, you know? The weighing up, the balance of life for the greater goal."
But Martian isn’t quite the same man who departed for undercover duty over six years ago.
"I think through Samia he found his humanity again," Fassbender said. "And I think that was the real drug when she came to London. He couldn't just leave it be, you know?"
Michael Fassbender in The Agency season 2. Luke Varley/Paramount+
"These characters that go into this world, I think primarily they believe in their countries, and they're trying to do the best for their countries, and they sacrifice their lives for their countries, so that's at the core of them."
"But then this relationship with Samia has, I think – he's found a soul somewhat through her, and you see it with his relationship with [his daughter] Poppy. I think they're the two kind of honest versions of him that you'll get."
His co-star Waterston, who plays Martian’s former case officer Naomi Ford, praised the series’s ability to show how public and private spheres collide in such high-pressure environments.
"Something that I learned from doing the show is how competitive the environment is," she said. "Similarly to acting, you’re kind of as good as your last job, you know? You’re as good as your last success or mistake. And the mistakes really hang over you."
"Naomi, when you meet her, is somebody who isn't necessarily thriving in that pressure, but she's ambitious enough to try to figure out how to cope with it."
"I think what's interesting, too, is, you know, we have a close relationship," Fassbender added. "She looked after me when I was in Addis [Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia] and then I've come back and I've betrayed her. That must cut deep."
Referring to Waterston’s character, he said: "You see that in the first season, there’s on your end a real sort of joy and sense of intimacy and accomplishment, you know? ‘You’re back home safe. I did my job.’ And I’ve got this intimacy issue with it, you know?"
"The dynamic changes,” his co-star agreed. “And I have to figure out how to adapt to that. But I feel like I still, in season two, have a sort of parental habit."
"Of this child has gone off the rails, yeah," Fassbender said.
"My job is to keep an eye on him," she said. "And it's hard to divorce myself from that former dynamic."
"You were protecting me before, now it's like, this guy's dangerous," he agreed.
"This is what I love about this show, is that we're having this kind of conversation," said Waterston. "The relationships are so complex and rich within this like heart-pounding, ‘gotta watch the next episode now’ kind of story.
"It's really, really interesting in terms of the psychological element. It makes even like a 10-second scene fun to play because there's always so much going on between us all."
The Agency season 2 launches on Paramount+ from 21 June.
Add The Agency to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Ad
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Clarisse Loughrey
Ad
Ad
Subscribe for £1 per week
Too much to watch this autumn? Let Radio Times magazine and app do the choosing, with expert picks across TV, streaming and film.
Loading...
Ad
Loading...