‘Counterpart’ Proves That TV Is Ready For The Spy Thriller

So often it feels as though our best fictional spies are assigned to the big screen. The Bonds, the Atomic Blondes, and whatever Tom Cruise is getting himself into comes in the form of feature-length films, and it’s been quite some time since a sci-fi spy thriller has found its place on TV. But your new mission, should you choose to accept it, is to watch Counterpart on Starz.

In recent years, the spy show has covered the Ridiculous (Chuck, Spy – which is actually quite a fun and goofy comedy available on Hulu) to Russian (The Americans) to Really? (did you know Burn Notice is about spies?). Of course there have been other respectable offerings from the butt-kicking gals of Alias and Covert Affairs and the British boys in London Spy and The Night Manager. But with Counterpart, Starz is making the perfect spy thriller for television.

Counterpart stars J.K. Simmons exactly how we like him: a soft-spoken, sweet gent intent on caring for his wife who is in a coma while he unsuccessfully pushes for a promotion at work. But this guy’s too nice! The super sleek types at his secretive agency have no plans to involve him with the classified high-level intelligence. Oh, that is until a bold and brash nearly identical version of Simmons’ Howard shows up from a parallel dimension with some necessary information — aka, J.K. Simmons exactly how we LOVE him.

Watching Simmons play opposite himself is like an acting jungle gym as he swings from clueless to commanding, and yet we learn that the two Howards have one major thing in common: what’s in their hearts. The first episode of Counterpart offers viewers just enough emotion and information to keep them intrigued and following along with the real world happenings as well as the mysterious other world filled with human carbon copies.

This is a story that deserves much more exploration than a two-hour film could ever provide, filled with characters that are worth uncovering episode by episode. The sci-fi element will thrill superfans and remains graspable for novices, while the action comes in exciting bursts that help support the dark and clever storylines. Plus, there’s something refreshing about a series that can pull off such a complex idea while remaining engrossing to a wide audience. The show is smart without showing off, and expertly captures that enviable element of binge-ability. In other words, it’s going to take some major self-control if you think you’ll want to watch just one episode at a time.

There’s an impressive amount of world-building right off the bat, and the show does an admirable job of creating and letting viewers know just how big the scope of unknown really is. The stakes are high, literally life or death — as well as a whole other world of life and death — which is supported by reliably superb acting at every turn. Stories like these are usually saved for flashy films, so while networks and streaming platforms search for supersized small screen content, à la the next Game of Thrones, Starz is proving they’re on to something: big screen ideas can in fact be made into buzzy TV shows.

Counterpart will hook you and have you talking, for sure, and it’s just what audiences crave for winter Sunday night viewing. But another result of the Starz drama could be even more television counterparts. The series proves that spy dramas, thrillers, and even sci-fi can be done in new and TV-specific formats, and done incredibly well. This could even spur spy shows with female and non-white leads — what a world! And while we look forward to the discovery of even more spy universes on TV, enjoying what Counterpart is bringing to the medium right now sure is a lot of fun.

Counterpart premieres Sunday, January 21 at 8pm ET/PT on Starz, and the first episode is available to watch now for subscribers on the Starz app.

Where to watch Counterpart