The Night Agent

Cast and characters

Gabriel Basso portrays Peter Sutherland, an FBI agent who works as a Night Action telephone operator at the White House in season 1 and becomes a Night Agent by the end of that season. Luciane Buchanan plays Rose Larkin, a cybersecurity entrepreneur and niece of two Night Action agents, appearing in seasons 1 and 2; in the second season she works for a startup called Adverse. Fola Evans-Akingbola appears as Chelsea Arrington, a Secret Service agent assigned to Second Daughter Maddie Redfield and later to the campaign and presidential detail of Richard Hagan; she is a regular in seasons 1 and 3 and a guest in season 2.

Sarah Desjardins plays Maddie Redfield, daughter of Vice President Ashley Redfield, in season 1. Eve Harlow portrays Ellen, an assassin with a tragic past, and Phoenix Raei plays Dale, a hitman partnered with Ellen, both in season 1. Enrique Murciano appears as Ben Almora, director of the U.S. Secret Service, and D. B. Woodside as Erik Monks, a Secret Service agent assigned to Maddie, both in season 1. Hong Chau plays Diane Farr, the White House chief of staff in season 1.

Arienne Mandi portrays Noor Taheri, a junior aide to the Iranian Mission at the United Nations seeking asylum, in season 2. Louis Herthum appears as Jacob Monroe, a black market intelligence broker, from season 2 onward. Berto Colon plays Solomon Vega, a Marine veteran working for Jacob, in season 2. Keon Alexander portrays Javad, a Quds Force officer, in season 2.

Michael Malarkey plays Markus Dargan, nephew of deposed dictator Viktor Bala, in season 2. Amanda Warren appears as Catherine Weaver, Peter's handler in Night Action, from season 2 onward. Ward Horton plays Richard Hagan, Governor of Kansas and later President, in season 3 and as a guest in season 2. Albert Jones portrays Aiden Mosley, Deputy Director of the FBI and Night Action supervisor, in season 3 and recurring in season 2.

David Lyons plays Adam Corrigan, a Night Agent with ties to President Hagan, in season 3. Stephen Moyer portrays the Father, an assassin, in season 3.

Genesis Rodriguez plays Isabel De Leon, a financial journalist, in season 3. Callum Vinson appears as the Son, the Father's adopted child, in season 3. Andre Anthony plays Colin Worley, a bomber, in season 1.

Production

Sony Pictures Television first announced plans to adapt Matthew Quirk's novel The Night Agent into a TV series on December 24, 2020, with Shawn Ryan attached as writer. Netflix picked up the project on July 21, 2021, and Seth Gordon was set to direct the pilot and produce the ten-episode season alongside Ryan, Marney Hochman, Julia Gunn, James Vanderbilt, William Sherak, Paul Neinstein, Nicole Tossou, and David Beaubaire.

On March 29, 2023, Netflix ordered a second season of ten episodes. The series was renewed for a third season on October 8, 2024, before the second season had even premiered. A fourth season followed on March 6, 2026, and on May 4, 2026, it was confirmed that the fourth season would be the show's last.

Casting

Casting began with Gabriel Basso and Luciane Buchanan on November 22, 2021. On February 1, 2022, Hong Chau, D. B. Woodside, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Eve Harlow, Phoenix Raei, Enrique Murciano, and Sarah Desjardins were added as series regulars. Kari Matchett joined in a recurring role on February 24, 2023. For the second season, Amanda Warren was cast as a series regular on December 8, 2023.

On January 11, 2024, Berto Colon, Louis Herthum, and Arienne Mandi became new regulars, while Brittany Snow and Teddy Sears were cast in recurring roles. On February 16, 2024, Michael Malarkey and Keon Alexander joined as regulars, with Navid Negahban and Rob Heaps in recurring parts. Marwan Kenzari, Elise Kibler, and Dikran Tulaine were cast in guest roles for the second season on March 26, 2024. Genesis Rodriguez was announced as a series regular for the third season on November 19, 2024.

On December 13, 2024, David Lyons, Jennifer Morrison, Stephen Moyer, and Callum Vinson were added as regulars, with Suraj Sharma in a recurring role. Ward Horton and Albert Jones were promoted to series regulars for the third season on January 31, 2025, and Evans-Akingbola was confirmed to return as a regular after a guest appearance in season two. On September 12, 2025, Buchanan stated in an interview that she would not be back for the third season.

For the fourth season, Titus Welliver, Trevante Rhodes, Li Jun Li, and Elizabeth Lail were cast as series regulars on April 22, 2026.

Reception

Netflix's data shows the first season of The Night Agent pulled in 168.71 million hours of viewing worldwide during its initial four days, placing it third among the platform's new series launches. The following week added 216.4 million hours, and the third week contributed 130.48 million hours, bringing the total to 515.57 million hours and making it the streamer's ninth-most-viewed series at that point.

Within 25 days, the show had accumulated 605.62 million total hours, rising to sixth-most-viewed. By June 2023, the series had logged 812.1 million hours watched, the highest total for any Netflix original during that period. Media Play News, citing PlumResearch data, reported that for the week ending April 2, 2023, the show attracted 14.9 million unique U.S. viewers, who spent an average of 224 minutes each watching.

Critical response

Critics gave the first season a 75% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 32 reviews, with the consensus describing it as a routine spy thriller delivered with commendable bravado. Metacritic assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews. Lucy Mangan of The Guardian awarded it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it propulsive, slicker-than-slick fun with fine performances, particularly from lead actor Basso. Mike Hale of the New York Times compared it to Rabbit Hole, noting both are implausible but that Night Agent strings viewers along in a teasing fashion over its 10 episodes.

The second season earned an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 29 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.6 out of 10, and a Metacritic score of 67 out of 100 based on 10 critics, again indicating generally favorable reviews. The third season holds an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 14 critic reviews, and a Metacritic score of 76 out of 100 based on 4 critics, also rated generally favorable.