What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Agency: Central Intelligence
Jez Butterworth · Series · 2024
If you loved The Agency: Central Intelligence, start with The Bureau (Éric Rochant, 2015) — a series from the same story. Below: 4 books, 4 films and 1 podcast, each matched to The Agency: Central Intelligence across media.
What hooked you in The Agency: Central Intelligence was the visceral way that high-stakes espionage constantly compromises the protagonists' most intimate personal relationships.
Start with the source
The source
The Bureau
Éric Rochant · Series · 2015
Books on the same thread
The Mission
Tim Weiner · Book
Explores: bureaucratic dysfunction, national security, institutional power.
If the bureaucratic tension in The Agency: Central Intelligence fascinated you, this history provides the real-world context of institutional power and internal struggle within the modern CIA.
Shadow Cell
Andrew Bustamante and Jihi Bustamante · Book
Explores: clandestine tradecraft, work-life balance, geopolitical risk.
This memoir echoes the central conflict of The Agency: Central Intelligence by showing how the high-pressure world of clandestine tradecraft impacts the reality of a marriage.
Need to Know
Karen Cleveland · Book · 2018
Shares 2 threads with The Agency: Central Intelligence: Betrayal, Espionage Thriller.
Just as in The Agency: Central Intelligence, this story centers on the dangerous intersection of national security obligations and the shattering discovery of hidden, personal identities.
Clown Town
Mick Herron · Book · 2026
Shares a thread with The Agency: Central Intelligence: Espionage Thriller.
While The Agency: Central Intelligence plays it straight, this thriller explores the same themes of institutional betrayal and the moral toll of life within the intelligence community.
Films on the same thread
The Amateur
James Hawes · Film · 2025
Shares a thread with The Agency: Central Intelligence: Espionage Thriller.
This film mirrors the personal stakes found in The Agency: Central Intelligence, where a sudden tragedy forces an operative to abandon professional protocol for a deeply emotional mission.
Body of Lies
Ridley Scott · Film · 2008
Shares a thread with The Agency: Central Intelligence: Espionage Thriller.
The Agency: Central Intelligence highlights the fragility of trust, a theme mirrored here as agents operate within a landscape where personal loyalty is constantly sacrificed for mission success.
The Housemaid
Paul Feig · Film · 2025
Explores: Class Conflict, Gaslighting, Identity Theft.
Much like the romantic tension in The Agency: Central Intelligence, this narrative pulls you into a seductive game where secrets and hidden agendas turn domestic life dangerous.
Notorious
Alfred Hitchcock · Film · 1946
Shares 3 threads with The Agency: Central Intelligence: Betrayal, Undercover Operations, Espionage Thriller.
This classic film is the direct ancestor to The Agency: Central Intelligence, perfectly capturing the agonizing conflict between professional duty and the desire for a forbidden love.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Rest Is Classified
Podcast
Explores: Cold War, Intelligence agencies, Covert operations.
After finishing The Agency: Central Intelligence, this podcast offers a deeper look into the actual history and geopolitical realities that inform the high-stakes world of covert operations.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The Agency: Central Intelligence based on any existing source material?
The Agency: Central Intelligence is a 2024 television series created by Jez Butterworth. While it focuses on the original story of a CIA agent returning to London, viewers looking for similar espionage themes often compare its tone to the 2015 television series The Bureau.
Does The Agency: Central Intelligence feature a romantic subplot?
Yes, romance is central to the plot of The Agency: Central Intelligence. The story follows a covert agent whose mission and identity are compromised when the love he left behind reappears, forcing him to choose between his career in international espionage and his personal heart.
What is the primary conflict in The Agency: Central Intelligence?
The primary conflict in The Agency: Central Intelligence involves the protagonist, Martian, being ordered to leave his undercover life for London Station. He faces a deadly game of international intrigue after his former love reappears, creating a direct clash between his professional mission and his personal life.
Should I watch The Bureau if I enjoyed The Agency: Central Intelligence?
If you enjoyed the espionage themes and international intrigue presented in The Agency: Central Intelligence, The Bureau is a recommended television series to watch next. Both shows explore the complex lives of intelligence agents and the high-stakes pressure of maintaining an undercover identity while navigating personal relationships.