A Spy Among Friends – Limited Series [2022] on Amazon Prime Video/MGM+

A Spy Among Friends is one of those shows that leave you questioning if what you just saw is truly great, or terribly bad.

Starring Damian Lewis & Guy Pearce, the show is more cerebral than outright thrilling. Yes, the first episode and a half are slow, mostly establishing mood and characters. But they’re the simmer of this spy soup, which does eventually boil.

However, the boiling is very…british. Lacking some truly captivating scenes, the show can sometimes feel boring and lackluster if you’re not into brainy spy games. The twist? It’s there, but you must dig VERY deep to find it. The plot twists through multiple reveals, establishing one set of facts and then questioning them. It’s a smart storytelling device, putting the viewer in the spy’s (expensive) shoes by making us ask if we can ever really know these characters, ever utterly understand their actions. The answer is perhaps not.

On the other hand, the series is packed full of standout performances that help negate its sometimes-languid pacing, Lewis and Pearce especially share phenomenal chemistry that really captures the years of friendship and memories shared by the pair, and their characters.

In conclusion, the series is all fine and elegant, but it’s lacking in charisma. Personally, I found it difficult to continue watching around the end of the second episode. I expected more, but I didn’t get any until the final two episodes.

Should You Watch It?

A Spy Among Friends is an intelligent tale of espionage elevated by a pair of sterling performances. In order to really enjoy it, you have to be fully focused, all the time. And most of us don’t.

Where Can I Watch It?

You can stream A Spy Among Friends on MGM+ and Amazon Prime Video.