My endless scrolling on Netflix has become a sort of tradition for me. Whenever I’m especially bored, rather than simply picking out something and then watching it—that would just be too easy—I instead scroll and scroll until I ultimately rewatch something on Disney+ instead. 

In my opinion, Netflix has significantly downgraded recently—most of their shows and movies aren’t as outstanding as they used to be; however, The Night Agent, released March 23, 2023 and based on the book by Matthew Quirk, made me appreciate Netflix again. 

The Night Agent follows an FBI agent, Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso), whose job is to monitor a telephone that never rings; it is an emergency line used by night agents when they are in desperate need of help. That was until one night, it rings, and Sutherland answers, thrusting himself into a murderous conspiracy including a mole in the White House and the entire country in danger. 

At the beginning of the series, it is mostly about Sutherland trying to protect an innocent civilian, Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan), after she witnessed a brutal attack on her aunt and uncle. Suddenly, Larkin is a target, and Sutherland does everything he can to protect her. 

As the series progresses, the plot evolves, and Sutherland and Larkin realize that the whole event is something much bigger and much more dangerous than just them. Once they learn of the mole at the White House, they can’t trust anyone but each other. Working together, they desperately seek to solve the webs of mysteries they find. 

Although it is extremely fast-paced, throughout the series, I got to learn and care about all of the characters. I’ve found that some of the shows or movies that are action can sometimes be about showing violence more than a plot. While there is some mild violence, there is also a plot underneath that leads the audience to genuinely care about the characters and their well-being. Ultimately, it made me more invested. 

The Night Agent is described as a drama, conspiracy fiction, and action fiction. Personally, I would add “spy mystery” as well because of the suspense. Throughout the series, there are a few smaller mysteries that are solved along the way. The added suspense from this greatly contributes to the overall show; it helped to suck me in, and it never gets boring this way.

The show was renewed for a second season almost immediately after the premier, and for good reason: The Night Agent is Netflix’s third most-watched show of all time. All that we know about this so far is that it will be based in a different location with a mostly different cast. We aren’t sure if Basso will even be included or not; though, perhaps this is a good thing. The way that season one ended was very well done; it did not feel rushed, and it covered everything that it needed to. It had a very full-circle moment. If the writers were to do something to ruin this, then I would be disappointed. 

Overall, The Night Agent is an extremely captivating series. I was never bored—the proof of this is that I finished the ten episodes in under three days. Invested in the series, I am eager for season two.