‘Counterpart’: Now You Can Binge The Best New Show Of 2018

Counterpart is the one show that’s come out in 2018 that I literally can’t recommend enough. I keep telling friends, family, and acquaintances to check it out, and then I tell them again. I tweet about it, blog about it, and do my best to angle it into every TV-related conversation. Counterpart is the show I’ve not only kept watching in 2018, but it’s the show that I’ve used as a television “palate cleanser.” It is so smart, so grown up, and so perfectly executed that it makes up for all the ho-hum stuff I have to trudge through as a TV critic.

So, yes, Counterpart is great.

Here’s the thing about Counterpart: plot-wise it’s perfect. The show follows Howard Silk (J.K. Simmons), a lowly cog in a top secret U.N. machine. His world is turned upside down when he discovers that there is not only an alternate reality that runs parallel to ours, but that his “counterpart” there is a ruthless secret agent. From there, the story zooms out. We meet players from the other side we can’t totally trust and discover that some of the characters we think we know are harboring dangerous secrets. The plot is full of clever twists and turns, but none of these reveals feel cheap. Everything is so meticulously plotted and elegantly executed that the show’s first season just feels gorgeous.

Season 1 of Counterpart is also understandably complicated. There’s a lot to keep track of. Some actors play dual versions of themselves, and these alter egos are distinguished by subtle detail. The story moves at a fast clip, both in terms of how the action moves along and how quickly big, grand emotional moments smack characters upside the head. And because every episode reveals a little bit more about the mysterious world we’re discovering, each episode also leaves you wanting more. It is a show that might be best watched in a binge.

And now that the first season has officially wrapped up, it’s the perfect time to jump in. You have to binge-watch Season 1 of Counterpart right now. I implore you.

(Also, if you’re terrified that you’re going to be coerced into devoting ten hours of your life binge-watching an amazing season of television only to discover that it’s not coming back, well, I can assure you it is. Starz has already greenlit Season 2 of Counterpart. It’s in production and Get Out stand out Betty Gabriel is joining the cast. It’s worth the investment.)

Where to Stream Counterpart