by Christos Zabounis

As “The Agency 2” is being feverishly prepared—despite Tottenham’s coach, Angelos Postecoglou, saying after winning the Europa League that the best season of any TV series is the third—I believe the time has come to draw a comparison with its “mother” series, “Le Bureau des Légendes“. We had written here, long before watching the American remake, that it was the best espionage series we had seen since the dawn of the 21st century. Before that, we simply didn’t watch television. “The New York Times“, in a recent article, ranked it as the third best series of the decade. I was lucky enough to discover it during a trip to France in 2015, and ever since then, like I imagine viewers of “Sasmos“ or “Land of Promise“ do in Greece, I awaited each new episode with anticipation. It wasn’t easy to watch, as it aired on the satellite channel Canal+, but with a bit of I.T. help, anything is possible. None of us were surprised, I think, when it was announced that George Clooney would be producing the American version. It aired in Greece one week after its U.S. premiere, on Cosmote TV, and here are our observations: Despite the similarities due to the script, an ocean separates the two series. Let’s start with the protagonist. Michael Fassbender took over the role held by Mathieu Kassovitz. No comment. The low-ceilinged offices of the D.G.S.E. (Direction Générale des Services Extérieurs), the French intelligence agency in Paris, were replaced by a glass CIA tower in London. The psychological depth of the French secret agents gave way to “Captain America,” in the sense of the hero who saves the world. And yet, in the comparison between spectacle and action versus realistic sensitivity devoid of Hollywood clichés, the winner—for the European viewer, at least—is Eric Rochant.