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‘The Agency’ and ‘Black Doves’: Spy Dramas in Touch With Their Feelings
‘The Agency’ and ‘Black Doves’ are part of a new crop of espionage series whose biggest battles take place within the hearts and minds of their agents.Ukraine and Russia are at war. Political instability and civil war rage in Sudan. Iran is ramping up its nuclear capabilities. The world is basically a mess in “The Agency,” the new espionage series that inundates the viewer with rapidly intersecting story lines set on an increasingly complicated geopolitical playing field.The series, which premiered last week on Paramount+ (with the Showtime tier), is part of a surge in spy shows that also includes “The Day of the Jackal,” on Peacock; “Black Doves,” premiering Dec. 5 on Netflix; and “Slow Horses,” which wrapped up its fourth season on Apple TV+ this fall.True to the genre, these series jet all over the globe (though mostly Europe) and unfold in high-tech command centers and in dark urban alleyways, via thrilling shootouts and furtive meetups. Some operatives pursue sanctioned missions as others go rogue. Multiple cats chase multiple mice, and it’s not always clear who is which.The most pitched battles, however, happen within the hearts and minds of the individual players. Even as the new spy shows reflect a fraught, tangled and mercenary post-Cold War world, the existential threats and conflicts are more interior, intimate and, in many ways, timeless.“It’s the agency,” a Central Intelligence Agency honcho (Jeffrey Wright) tells a field agent (Michael Fassbender) in “The Agency.” “Nothing is personal.” Nothing, that is, except everything.Jeffrey Wright, right, with John Magaro, plays a C.I.A. boss in “The Agency,” based on the French series “The Bureau.”Luke Varley/Paramount+ with ShowtimeWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
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Late Night Razzes Trump’s Upcoming Visit to Notre-Dame
“If all goes according to plan, he would like to buy it and turn it into a casino,” Jimmy Kimmel said of the Paris cathedral on Tuesday.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Prayers Up for ParisPresident-elect Donald Trump will fly to France this weekend to attend the reopening of the historic Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, five years after it was gutted by a fire.“If all goes according to plan, he would like to buy it and turn it into a casino,” Jimmy Kimmel joked on Tuesday.“When Notre-Dame was on fire five years ago, if you remember, Trump was very helpful. He tweeted, ‘So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out?’ Because before then, nobody had thought of using water to put out a fire. That’s why he’s a genius.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Trump plans to meet with French President Macron, who is one of the first world leaders smart enough to congratulate him on his victory last month. He wrote: ‘Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine.’ That’s right — between the two of them, they’ve got 34 convictions.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“And it’ll be interesting to see Trump and Macron interact. Trump is said to be jealous of the French president because he’s able to button his suit jacket without adding butter to his chest.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“But it’s expected to be a nice, very pleasant trip for the president-elect to enjoy Paris before he takes office, and, of course, for his wife Melania to enjoy wherever it is she will be this weekend.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (On Fire Edition)“I read that President-elect Trump is going to Paris this weekend to attend the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral after it was destroyed in a fire back in 2019. Yep, Trump’s going to take one step inside the church, and it’s going to burst right back into flames.” — JIMMY FALLON“The opening ceremonies are this Sunday, and the restored cathedral will be honored with massive pyrotechnics, a fire-eater and an exhibit of Europe’s most oily rags.” — STEPHEN COLBERTThe Bits Worth WatchingOn “The Tonight Show” the comedian Fortune Feimster shared the story of successfully introducing her wife to Madonna after 10 years of trying.What We’re Excited About on Wednesday NightBest buddies Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen will stop by Wednesday’s “Late Show.”Also, Check This OutJulia Fox takes pride in being one of New York’s most out-there artists.Megan LovalloActress, writer and all-around It Girl Julia Fox shared her tips for being a freak in T Magazine’s Freak City issue. More
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An Imaginative Treat for ‘Adventure Time’ Fans
From the creator of that series comes “Mystery Cuddlers,” on Adult Swim, about a retired couple who have taken up private investigating.Today for your viewing pleasure: two Adult Swim one-offs, one newly birthed, the other sadly dead but still glorious. To be a TV fan is to know that sometimes 22 minutes is all you get.The new cartoon “Mystery Cuddlers,” available on the Adult Swim website and YouTube, follows a loving couple, Arthur and June Cuddler (voiced by Randall Park and Pam Grier), who’ve taken up private investigating in their retirement. “Cuddlers” has a bright, appealing oddness and fun character names like Helvetica Deathgurgle, but perhaps its biggest draw is its lineage: It was created by Pendleton Ward, the creator of “Adventure Time,” and Jack Pendarvis, an “Adventure Time” collaborator. “Adventure Time” and its spinoffs are among the most enchanting, dynamic shows of the 2000s, so even a glimmer of its greatness here is an exciting development. Adult Swim often posts pilots, many of which go no further, but in trying times, it’s good to practice hope. (The creators have called the cartoon a “pilot,” but a spokesperson for Adult Swim said it was a “special.”)As we turn our gaze to the future, we also honor those pilots that fared less well. “I’m the Mayor of Bimmi Gardens,” now on YouTube, was made in 2021 but not picked up. It’s a shame because “Bimmi” is filled with an ecstatic strangeness not currently present on television. (I’ll miss you forever, “At Home With Amy Sedaris.”) The show was created by and stars the comedian Chris Fleming and is set in the magical city of Bimmi Gardens, an island off the coast of Florida but technically “a territory of Maine,” whose primary crop is boba.“The boba crop grows when men stay virginal of mind and body,” the mayor reminds us. “Every year people have the same irrational fear: that the men of Bimmi Gardens will become horny and the moon will punish us by preventing our precious boba bushes from fruiting.”The mayor’s assistant (Victoria Pedretti, of “You”) is named RossandRachel, and the evil, alternative crop to boba is mojito, which the mayor fears will turn Bimmi into the worst imaginable place: Miami. Maybe it’s not that surprising that a pastel boba fantasia did not capture the hearts of TV executives, but that stinks for the rest of us.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
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Jon Stewart Thinks Biden Could Have Timed That Pardon Better
“Normally, you drop a controversial pardon like the way you buy porn at a gas station: in a flurry of other distracting purchases,” the “Late Night” host said.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.‘Hypocrisy Isn’t Illegal’As Thanksgiving weekend drew to a close, President Biden issued a full and unconditional pardon for his son Hunter, despite having repeatedly pledged not to do so. It was the talk of late night on Monday.On “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart questioned the president’s timing.“Normally, you drop a controversial pardon like the way you buy porn at a gas station: in a flurry of other distracting purchases.” — JON STEWART“Thanksgiving! I knew it! Perhaps I can explain the way this pardon went down in my new one-man show, ‘Can You Get Hunter to Stop Looking at Me Like That?’” — JON STEWART“He’s an 82-year-old man — he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life visiting his son in prison.” — JON STEWART“Hypocrisy isn’t illegal, nor is it particularly unusual in politics. It’s not like he’s ever going to run again, so why not take care of your kid, even if you said you weren’t going to? I respect it. I don’t have a problem with it. The problem is, the rest of the Democrats made Biden’s pledge to not pardon Hunter the foundation of their defense of America.” — JON STEWARTThe Punchiest Punchlines (World’s Greatest Dad Edition)“Yeah, it was a big shopping weekend, and millions of people got great deals, but nobody got a better deal than Hunter Biden.” — JIMMY FALLON“Christmas came early for this guy.” — TYRUS, guest host of “Gutfeld!”“The Biden presidency has now entered the ‘Grandpa doesn’t give a damn about what you think’ phase.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“And, yes, Joe Biden did say he wasn’t going to pardon Hunter. But, to be fair, there’s a very good chance he doesn’t remember saying that.” — JIMMY KIMMELWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
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Christmas Specials, Plus 4 Things to Watch on TV This Week
Get in the holiday spirit with Sabrina Carpenter, Jimmy Fallon or a Christmas tree lighting. Catch up on reality television and heists.Between streaming and cable, there is a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that are available live or streaming this week, Dec. 2 to Dec. 8. Details and times are subject to change.Cozy Up With Holiday SpecialsThough you may still be snacking on Thanksgiving leftovers as we enter December, it’s officially time to get into the holiday spirit. And it shouldn’t be too hard, TV-wise at least.For the 15th year in a row, Christmas heads to Nashville with a celebration of all things holiday and all things country on “CMA Country Christmas,” hosted by Amy Grant and Trisha Yearwood. Performers including Jon Pardi, CeCe Winans and For King + Country will sing festive favorites like “Joy to the World.” Yee-haw and happy holidays! Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ABC.The 2023 Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center.Seth Wenig/Associated PressA quintessential Rockefeller Center Christmas tree — a Norway spruce — has made the yearly voyage to the big city, from its home in West Stockbridge, Mass., about 130 miles from Midtown Manhattan. Since its arrival, it has been adorned with 50,000 LED lights and a 900-pound Swarovski crystal star, and now is finally ready for its close-up. The 92nd Annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center lighting ceremony will be hosted by Kelly Clarkson, with the Radio City Rockettes, the Backstreet Boys and Jennifer Hudson scheduled to perform. Wednesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.Immediately after the tree lighting, “Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular” is set to celebrate Fallon’s new star-studded album, “Holiday Seasoning,” which dropped on Nov. 1 and features songs with the Jonas Brothers, Justin Timberlake and Dolly Parton. Expect them and others to celebrate with Fallon. Wednesday at 10 p.m. on NBC.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
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‘Dune: Prophecy’ Season 1 Episode 3 Recap: The Meaning of Sacrifice
“Sisterhood above all” is the motto of Valya and Tula’s secretive organization, but its meaning seems to depend on which sister is saying it.Season 1, Episode 4: ‘Sisterhood Above All’They share a last name and a mission, but Valya and Tula Harkonnen are two very different women. At least that’s what “Dune: Prophecy” primed us to believe until this week’s episode.Tula, played by Olivia Williams as an adult and Emma Canning as a young woman, is the sensitive one, the sister who goes along to get along. Her older sister, Valya (Emily Watson all grown up, Jessica Barden in flashbacks), is the one who rages against House Atreides for slandering her great-grandfather as a traitor. She is equally angry with her own family, especially her mother, Sonya (Polly Walker), and her uncle, Evgeny (Mark Addy), for meekly accepting their fate of exile on Lankiveil, a frozen wasteland of a planet. Sonya warns Tula and her brother, an aspiring politician named Griffin (Earl Cave), to stay away from their sister, a “wolf” who will devour them both with her ambition.But both siblings are fond of Valya. Why wouldn’t they be? For one thing, the three of them seem to be the only members of the family willing to show one another consistent affection. For another, Valya saved Griffin from drowning by using the Voice on him, forcing his muscles to swim through icy water to the surface.So when Griffin is murdered, allegedly by an Atreides, after Valya encourages him to get involved in Imperial politics, her thirst for vengeance consumes Tula as well. The younger sister poses as the lover of a young Atreides, then massacres him and the entire male side of his family the night before a big traditional hunt. She spares only a disabled young teenager named Albert (Archie Barnes, whom you may remember as the bold young Lord Oscar Tully from “House of the Dragon’), to whom she had been friendly the day before.Thus, House Harkonnen has its vengeance — not that Tula and Valya’s older relatives are anything but aghast. It’s not only the murders they object to; it’s also the involvement of Tula, of whom they clearly have a higher opinion than they do of Valya.But the Harkonnen sisters weren’t out to curry their family’s favor with this mission; Valya, at least, was more interested in scoring points with the Sisterhood’s mother superior, Raquella, who had encouraged her to go home and take care of family business so that she could fully commit to the order. Her disgraced surname hangs around her neck like a millstone — Raquella’s granddaughter and apparent successor, Dorotea, hates Valya for being a Harkonnen as much as for anything else. You can almost feel Valya’s defiance as she makes her move via Tula: Fine, Dorotea. I’ll give you something to hate me for.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
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Wayne Northrop, ‘Days of Our Lives’ Actor, Dies at 77
He was best known for playing two characters, Roman Brady and Dr. Alex North, in more than 1,000 episodes on the daytime soap opera.Wayne Northrop, an actor who played two roles on the long-running daytime soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” as a good-hearted detective and then as a shadowy doctor, died on Friday. He was 77.Mr. Northrop, who learned six years ago that he had early onset Alzheimer’s disease, died at the Motion Picture and Television Woodland Hills Home in Woodland Hills, Calif., according to a family statement from his publicist, Cynthia Synder.He appeared in several television shows throughout his career, including the prime-time legal drama “L.A. Law” in the 1980s. He gained notoriety on ABC’s “Dynasty” as the handsome and mysterious chauffeur Michael Culhane who drove around the Denver business titan Blake Carrington, who was portrayed by the actor John Forsythe. Mr. Northrop appeared in 35 episodes.Mr. Northrop was probably best known for his roles on “Days of Our Lives.” The show, which premiered in 1965 on NBC, follows various characters in the fictional Midwestern town of Salem.Mr. Northrop portrayed two characters on the show. He was the tough but loyal detective Roman Brady from 1981-84 and again from 1991-94, according to his publicist.Beginning in 2005, he played Dr. Alex North, a one-time medical school classmate of Dr. Marlena Evans, a psychiatrist and the town’s matriarch, played by Deidre Hall. The Dr. North character was an amnesia specialist and a shadowy figure who manipulated, blackmailed and even committed murder on the show, according to soaps.com.Mr. Northrop appeared in more than 1,000 episodes from 1981-2006. The show moved to the network’s Peacock streaming service in 2022.Wayne Northrop was born on April 12, 1947, in Sumner, Wash. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Washington before pursuing acting.Mr. Northrop’s career began in theater, with his first big break in 1975 when he joined the Los Angeles Actors’ Theater.He made his television debut with a small part in “Police Story,” an anthology crime drama about the lives of police officers. His other television credits include appearances in “Eight Is Enough,” a show about a newspaper columnist and his eight children; “Baretta,” about a New York City detective; and “The Waltons,” about a Virginia family in the 1930s and ’40s; and “You Are the Jury,” about actual courtroom trials.He also landed roles in the made-for-television films “Beggarman, Thief,” (1979) about the Jordache family, adapted from the novel by Irwin Shaw; and “Going for Gold: The Bill Johnson Story” (1985) about the first U.S. men’s skiing gold medal winner.Mr. Northrop also appeared as Rex Stanton in 121 episodes of the “General Hospital” soap opera spinoff, “Port Charles” from 1997-98. That show also starred his wife, Lynn Herring Northrop, who has been an actress on “General Hospital” since 1986.He is survived by his wife, their sons, Hank Northrop and Grady Northrop, and stepmother, Janet Northrop, according to the family statement. More
