Counterpart (TV series)
Counterpart is an American science fiction thriller television series starring J. K. Simmons. It was created by Justin Marks and was first broadcast on the premium cable network Starz. The series ran for 20 episodes across two seasons. It premiered on December 10, 2017, and aired its final episode on February 17, 2019.
Premise
Howard Silk, a gentle, quiet office worker, has been working for a Berlin-based United Nations agency, the Office of Interchange, for thirty years; however, his rank is too low for him to be told what his work really involves, with him exchanging pre-scripted nonsensical messages. In fact, OI oversees a crossing point, below the OI headquarters, to a parallel Earth. The parallel Earth was created in 1987 during an experiment by East German scientists when only a scientist named Yanek was on-site. The original "Alpha world" Yanek meets his new "Prime world" counterpart, and they soon begin studying how the initially identical Earths start to exhibit subtle differences.The differences become drastically more pronounced after 1996, when a deadly virus kills hundreds of millions in the Prime world. The virus is suspected of being purposefully delivered from the Alpha world, resulting in a tense Cold War state between the two worlds, with counterparts used as spies and sleeper agents. Silk's Alpha world continues to resemble ours, but the Prime world becomes quite different, with Howard Silk Prime being a ruthless and cold intelligence operator. Matters escalate during the series when a powerful rogue faction on Prime executes long simmering plans to get revenge on Alpha.
Cast and characters
Main
- J. K. Simmons as Howard Silk, an Interface employee at the Alpha world's Office of Interchange, and as Howard Silk Prime, an accomplished clandestine agent for Section 2 of OI in the Prime world.
- Olivia Williams as Emily Burton-Silk, Howard's wife in the Alpha world and an employee of Housekeeping at OI, and as Emily Burton, Prime Howard's ex-wife and also an employee of OI Housekeeping.
- Harry Lloyd as Peter Quayle, OI Director of Strategy in the Alpha world and Clare's husband.
- Nazanin Boniadi as Clare, Alpha Peter Quayle's wife.
- Sara Serraiocco as Nadia Fierro/Baldwin, a mysterious assassin from the Prime world.
- Ulrich Thomsen as Josef Aldrich, OI Director of Housekeeping in the Alpha world.
- Nicholas Pinnock as Ian Shaw, an aggressive OI Housekeeping operative and watchdog in the Prime world, Emily Prime's lover after her marriage broke down.
- Mido Hamada as Cyrus, an OI Housekeeping operative under Aldrich.
- Betty Gabriel as Naya Temple, a former FBI agent hired by the OI in the Alpha world to clean house.
- James Cromwell as Yanek, the warden of Echo, an underground facility in the Prime world, the scientist from Alpha in 1987 whose inattentive moment allowed an experiment to run amok and create Prime and the single corridor connecting the two worlds.
Recurring
- Kenneth Choi as Bob Dwyer, OI Director of Strategy in the Prime world
- Guy Burnet as Claude Lambert, the Prime ambassador to the Alpha world, later revealed to have a close personal relationship with Claude
- Stephen Rea as Alexander Pope, Howard Prime's mentor and an influential associate of the Indigo program
- Bernhard Forcher as Andrei, Howard Alpha's Go partner and Emily Alpha's lover.
- Sarah Bolger as Anna Burton-Silk, Howard and Emily Prime's daughter
- Bjorn Johnson as Heinrich, an expatriate from the Prime world and part of Howard Prime's contact network
- Lotte Verbeek as Helen Mueller, one of a trio of infiltrators from the Prime world
- Jamie Bamber as Eric Burton, Emily's brother.
- Karim Saleh as Marcel, an OI Interface employee in the Alpha world
- Richard Schiff as Roland Fancher, OI Director of Diplomacy and Quayle's father-in-law
- Nolan Gerard Funk as Angel Eyes, one of a trio of infiltrators from the Prime world
- Liv Lisa Fries as Greta, a barista in the Alpha world who becomes involved with Baldwin
- Jacqueline Bisset as Charlotte Burton, Emily's mother
- Christiane Paul as Mira, the head of the Indigo program's school in the Prime world, daughter of Yanek, and briefly appears as Mira
- Stefan Kapičić as Lieber, Ian Shaw's right-hand man
- Jacqueline Antaramian as Ava Fancher, Roland's wife
- Ingo Rademacher as Friedrich, Quayle's best friend
- Marco Khan as Raash, Howard Prime's right-hand man, a loyal and reliable operative
Episodes
Season 1 (2017–18)
Season 2 (2018–19)
Production
The series was ordered in April 2015 with J. K. Simmons announced to star. Production began in December 2016 in Los Angeles, and it was announced that the series would be filmed in additional locations across the U.S. and Europe in 2017, including Berlin, where the series is set, and in Potsdam at Babelsberg Studio, which is co-producing the series. Amy Berg served as showrunner, executive producer, and writer for the first season, but departed before season two. Production began on the second season in February 2018 in Berlin.Cancellation
After Starz opted not to order more episodes, the series' production company Media Rights Capital sought another home for the show. The effort was not successful.Reception
Critical response
Counterpart was well received by critics. The first season has a "certified fresh" 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 8.41 out of 10 based on 45 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Tense and gripping, Counterpart is an absorbing thrill-fest led by J. K. Simmons' multi-faceted dual lead performance." On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 76 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".The second season also received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 100% approval rating with an average rating 8.01 out of 10 based on 22 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Double the J.K. Simmons brings double the aplomb in the second season of Counterpart, which finds time to deliver relevant societal critiques while deepening its labyrinthine lore." On Metacritic, it has a score of 75 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".