X
- 2022
- TV-MA
- ITV
- 2022
- TV-MA
- ITV
Summary MI6 officer Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis) learns his friend and colleague Kim Philby (Guy Pearce) is working as a KGB double agent in this limited series based on Ben Macintyre's non-fiction book of the same name. [Premiered originally in the UK on ITVX on 8 Dec 2022 and in the US on MGM+ on 12 Mar 2023]
- 2022
- TV-MA
- ITV
- 2022
- TV-MA
- ITV
A Spy Among Friends
Season 1 Premiere: Dec 8, 2022
74
7.3
Summary MI6 officer Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis) learns his friend and colleague Kim Philby (Guy Pearce) is working as a KGB double agent in this limited series based on Ben Macintyre's non-fiction book of the same name. [Premiered originally in the UK on ITVX on 8 Dec 2022 and in the US on MGM+ on 12 Mar 2023]
All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 Critic Reviews
74
56% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
44% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 Critic Reviews
74
56% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
44% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The writers and directors display consummate authority over the subject matter, and that expertise frees Pearce and Lewis to give two of the year’s best performances.
“A Spy Among Friends” does move at a good pace, with a few lulls here and there. However, there are points where the toggling between various timelines threatens to lose the plot. Thankfully, the three central performances from Maxwell Martin, Lewis, and Pearce hold it together, and this spy—and friendship—story is anything but by the book.
The densely webbed structure is much suited to a story where truth eludes capture. The viewer’s proper attention is called for, and can be freely given in part thanks to performances so punctilious and finely wrought that it doesn’t seem to matter that Pearce is required to cover 30 years and Lewis 20.
It rewards a patient and attentive viewer, an audience invested in the minutiae of friendships pushed to the brink, with newer revelations constantly forcing you to wonder anew whether anyone’s intentions and motivations can really be known, let alone trusted.
As well-told as it is here, I'm not so sure it needs to be told again in the first place.
The story of Philby and the Cambridge spy ring is one of the most fascinating tales of 20th-century British history (or, as it’s now known, the Ben Macintyre Cinematic Universe). It’s a shame, then, that the questions of class, capitalism and clemency, innate to the tale, are subordinated to easy moral signposting.
Perhaps it suffers from an unfortunate comparison with another recent series adapted from a Macintyre book, SAS Rogue Heroes, which channels its fascinating history lesson into something far more vivacious and entertaining. This is all very fine and elegant, but it’s lacking in charisma.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 User Ratings
7.3
83% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
17% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 User Ratings
7.3
83% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
17% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company:
- BritBox
- ITV Studios
- Sony Pictures Television
- Spectrum
- Veritas Entertainment Group
Initial Release Date: Dec 8, 2022
Number of seasons: 1 Season
Rating: TV-MA
Awards
Satellite Awards
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Astra Television Awards
• 3 Nominations
BAFTA Awards
• 1 Nomination
