The writers of their show must hate their wives.
The wife (Lynne Renee) is ever so annoying, continually to get Max (Mark Strong) into deeper troubles.
Would have been much more pleasant to watch with the wife's role reduced.
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betelnutgeuse7 April 2019
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I enjoyed this show but I don't necessarily need another season. One never ending annoyance in both seasons is that no one considers alternatives. Either the "good guys" fail to consider that the "bad guys" might have guessed where they will go next or the "bad guys" fail to consider that the "good guys" may be expecting a trap. Its like c'mon people, that car might have its right blinker on but that doesn't mean it might turn left instead and you have to account for that. Another annoyance is that people are oblivious that someone might try to use their loved ones to gain leverage in matters,, when they spend a good portion of show highlighting who those loved ones are. The overall arching story has a ring of truth however, that the very people in the intelligence agencies that are paid to keep America out of war, actually may collude with companies that profit from war into manipulating events for war. I mean we spent trillions on Afghanistan and Iraq, and that money wound up in someone's pocket. Insert conspiracy theory here. Which leads me to my last smaller complaint, is that an overall assumption is people won't believe the truth unless it stands up and smacks them. If you know groups like Qanon, you know the exact opposite is the case. People want to believe any type of rumor nowadays.
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muamba_eats_toast4 October 2019Nothing special but has its moments and interesting enough to get into. Mark strong carried the first season and stood out. However the 2nd has a much better story. Mildly above average worth a watch if you get the chance.
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MAD_PIGE0N10 November 2021The show is good, filmed good, with decent soundtrack and good acting, maybe not the best possible, however good enough. It is an interesting story for the first season with great twists, action scenes and outcomes. As for the second season, I think it is where the show gets closer to a cliches for that type of stories and some of the characters and their actions are a bit overexaggerated. Still, good enough, but to me is more like not necessary season and a weaker one, so that's why the combined score of the first and the second is 7 stars for me, I'd give 8 for the first, 6 for the second. And don't get me wrong, it is worth watching.
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When I first saw Mark Strong was in the cast, I was expecting something special. Though first episode included a few tired cliches, I still figured it was worth sticking with this show a little longer. Unfortunately successive episode presented a mixed up story of predictability, outlandish plot lines, uninteresting characters AND bad acting.. Mr Strong wasn't necessarily so bad and I am wondering how he got into this mess. If I were him I'd be looking for a new agent after this debacle. Since the production value wasn't too bad & there were some talented actors I gave six stars but that really may be too generous. This is the kind of show I start to feel contempt for if I think about it too much. Reason is it is hard for me to believe the people responsible for the show didn't know that something was going wrong and they just didn't care or bother to deal with those problems. I don't appreciate being exposed to the results of their indifference...
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paullynch-424498 April 2018This initial episode does just about enough to get the audience hooked and wanting more. A good balance of back story and character building/relationship detailing to give enough knowledge around the theme with a good dose of action and suspense to keep you wanting more.
In typical short season (8 episode) fashion - we are left with a lot more questions than answers at the minute - but as the plot and story line develops over the coming episodes I'm sure these will be fleshed out for the viewer. So far the casting seems to be to be farily strong as well.. no complaints from me so far and looking forward to the next episodes! -
javaneh299 April 2018Some aspects of Iranian lifestyle is a little off. The hijab is more Arabic looking.but otherwise so far, I'm enjoying it!
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If you like the thriller / spy / action genre i think you'll like this show.
Lots of characters to root for and lots to wish ill upon, international espionage, entangled allegiances and competing self interest.
Walter Goggins enters the scene as a primary character in Season 2 and gives a great performance.
Fans of Game of Thrones may recognize Gendry but Joe Dempsie (who plays Harry Clarke) shows he's got range. Karima McAdams plays another primary character from Season 1, Leyla Toumi, and her intensity echos in every scene she's in.
The rest of the supporting cast are thoroughly solid.
You can totally watch Season 2 even if you haven't seen Season 1. -
They're bad. Reeeeeally bad. Almost takes you out of the dialogue. Otherwise, good show
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mickey-679-61960112 December 2018This is really great series to watch. It's actually scary how governments and business shady businesses are intertwined and can instigate wars. With this being a fiction, there is, I'm afraid a lot real elements in it. Entertaining and yet horrifying to watch.
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brotherbosco19 June 2019Season 2 is lacking in storyline, but more than makes up for it with a dozen bad American accents
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acpantique6 April 2018Try to keep up with what's new , missed this one glad I found it by chance. If it keeps up to the standard of the 1st episode it could be a keeper . Mark Strong owns the character to the nines. Fingers crossed for the next instalment.
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stevtull4 February 2020Just finished season one and found myself fairly invested. Just like the protagonist's son I found the ending highly unsatisfactory. Seems so many series are produced these days with one eye on the next series the current one suffers with contrived implausible endings.
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martinoliverscreech21 July 2018The acting and the restrained tone are good and lend a sort of credibility to what is otherwise a poorly written and deeply derivative spy story---one can think of it as a poor man's "Homeland." The opening credits seem almost a direct copy of those of "Homeland." Note to writers: if you are going to move your characters over long geographic distances, then you should show them travelling or otherwise set up the travel better. It is jarring to see somebody in Beirut one minute, and then in the south of France what seems to be a minute later.
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I had originally given this series an "8", for the first few episodes, but I've just watched the rest of the season, and what a brainless mess!
Plot holes you could drive a Mack truck through everywhere, weak script, no suspense ie totally predictable/unbelievable, and a blatant, radical political ideology agenda message.
Why is it now that for US terrorism series now it's either their own government or the Brits that are the enemy, and for Brit series it's always their government or the US the enemy?! lol
PLEASE...please...no more! No season 2.... The entertainment world is polluted enough, without this garbage included... -
DonEstif25 August 2021Typical story of evil right-wing corporation in cahoots with the military abusing small, unsophisticated country for profit while the righteous liberals scattered throughout the plot and the humble, not-so-bad, murdering terrorists try to do God's work. The actors did well with their characters, the staging is well-done, but the sanctimonious story line is queasily redundant with previous Hollywood churnings. Because of the acting I've been generous/liberal with my rating.
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cagdas-21-31507317 May 2018This one is definitely one of the best shows on TV - not sure why so underrated!! Mark Strong is fascinating as always and Karime McAdams is stunning!!!
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Have yet to see second season. First season with Mark Strong starts out ..well..strong. Lot's of intrigue and action with just enough emotional investment to make it all count.
Overall, I enjoyed the first season. It was an entertaining watch to pass the time but there were a few things that bothered me. I think much of it is due to a lower budget. First, anything that had to do with American this or that just did not feel American to me. Most of the American characters were played by Brits and, with the exception of Anastasia - who has played American characters for many years and is half-American herself - most of the accents are really bad. Typically Brits who struggle with the accent take on a Deep South drawl, but still..ugh..glaringly bad here. Note, as one who watches a ton of Brit stuff, this is not uncommon. MI-5 had some bad American accents here and there, but American characters were few and far between on that show. "Deep State" contains a lot of "American" content and characters. The "American" sets are also glaringly not American. Point is, that the whole American side of the show is just poorly developed and produced, with the exception of Griffith.
(lol...thought it was funny they used an IMDB pic of Griffith in a Georgetown yearbook...like her main pic)
Secondly, there's not much payoff at the end of the season. Granted there is a second season, so maybe certain things would be addressed. However, given the egregious nature of the covert activities by both Brit and American intelligence and complete lack of regard for innocent human life, especially at the expense of corrupt corporate bureaucrats, once would think the show would not end quite a casually as it did. Someone needs to pay here and no one really did.
In other words, the first season tended to stretch logic as the season progressed. I was entertained. It is mostly binge worthy stuff here, but ultimately left me a bit unsatisfied at the end and a little confused too. -
SnarkyYarbles7 April 2018Densely intricate, multi layered spy thriller. The pilot looks great, if they can keep this up it should be compelling tv.
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peripatitis-3339221 November 2018Somehow it works. Sound atmosphere, beginning titles are beyond excellent. The actors are interesting choices, perhaps a bit too theatrical, in any case not the norm (which is a good thing imo).. The general atmosphere is nice but the script is a bit basic and something is amiss. Perhaps the suggestion that even the worst of people (the bad guys here) still are good parents is an odd choice making the hero not very different to them.. Anyway you get a glimpse of early homeland with a weaker script and a house of cards kind of ending which is serviceable for next season I guess..
p.s the brother character makes no sense to me, unless he was somehow edited out of the story at some point... -
brainwerx-128 May 2018The series is a little slow to start, the first couple of episodes I found to be a little slow and confusing. However, after that, the series started making more sense. By the time the series (first series) wraps up, it becomes obvious what they're really saying: the power behind the throne(s), is massive, and does things that the governments need to cover up. Not, the other way around.
Mark Strong, whom I am a tremendous fan of, is amazing. And yes, that is Gendy from GoT, and his wife was in Strike Back as a Mosad agent. Overall a great group of people that work well together. -
wcgunner29 April 2018How the heck is Fox airing this with NO sub titles, French and Arabic languages constantly being spoken, and NO sub titles for it, I'm sorry, I speak English and that's it Fox.
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Sits nicely with the breed of high standard spy shows like The Bureau, Homeland, Counterpart, Night manager etc
Perhaps a quick pump it out lower budget version, but still very entertaining.
Wife's a b!tch and the older daughter drove me nuts. Cant say I liked the wife's brother either. Needs a shave and hair cut -
mikejade-3545319 January 2019First of all why do actors hold their gun next to their partner's head? Guns are loud and will blow out their ear drum. Just saying. If you did not trust your government before this series it will give you food for thought. Oh, this is fiction, right. Like governments are not corrupt. I have no idea but I don't trust any of them. Greed and power. Good espionage film for entertainment. David and Goliath type. Small ban of outcasts trying to save the world. Like Trump is going to let the Deep State bomb Iran so the industrial complex can make money rebuilding it. I don't think so. Like most movies you need to suspend reason and just watch the action. Try to follow the storyline. It was entertaining.
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The show is decent but not a believable spy thriller. There are some events that ruin it
1.) A low-level British intelligence officer orders the murder of a French woman and her two small children. If such an action occurred and later became to light, it would cause a political crisis of extreme proportions. Why go to such extremes risks when you could have ordered your agents to sneak into the house and steal the USB drive.
2.) The operation in Iran is clearly an American operation, why is it a British assassination team in Iran. This is not very believable. If the team had been caught in Iran, conducting what are 'Acts-of-War', that is probably just what the British government would get is a war with Iran. It might be believable that the British might lend some support to an American team operating in Iran.
3.) Why is killing people the solution to every problem in the show? I suspect that orders to kill people are taken at a very high level in intelligence organizations with consultations with the political establishments. Killing foreign nationals in their home country is certainly one of the last options used. The risks are just too great.
4.) One of the British agents, Harry, would stick out like a sore thumb. White as can be and clean shaven. I doubt that he could move freely around in Iran (he drinks coffee at the local coffee shop while hiding in a safe-house.
The show could be decent if they would use more brain-power and fewer bullets.