It seems Peacock is going all in on spy thrillers. It makes sense: like the ever-popular murder mystery genre, spy thrillers rely on a plot full of twists where every character is a suspect. Throw together some name actors and let them do their best with the material. When it fails, you move on to another one. When it works, you get something like Ponies.
Set in the late 70s, Ponies follows two secretaries for the American embassy in Moscow who become CIA operatives after the mysterious deaths of their spy husbands. Bea (Emilia Clarke) and Twila (Haley Lu Richardson) are considered “Persons of No Interest” (Ponies, for short) by the KGB. This makes them perfect for clandestine operations while also allowing them to discover what their spouses were up to. What follows is a mix of spy thriller, buddy comedy, and character drama.
Part of what makes Ponies work so well is that blend and how well the writers establish these characters. What starts as the typical buddy cop premise of the straight-laced operative and chaotic rule-breaker quickly morphs into a story of the two discovering themselves and their previously hidden talents. There’s more to both Bea and Twila than even their superiors expect. That helps make the story one worth investing in, even without the car chases and plot twists. Some of those twists do lean into predictable patterns, but it works thanks to the prior investment in the characters. The show might not always nail the thriller aspects of its genre, but it succeeds in large part thanks to a game cast.
Clarke gets a role worthy of her talents with Bea. You can see the facade of her buttoned-up nature unravel as the season progresses. Unlike Twila, she is fluent in Russian, which makes her immediately suited for undercover missions. Twila, the wild card, soon takes up the role of playing defense. She spends many a mission protecting Bea from outside forces and using her gift of gab to get her way. Together, the pair make a surprisingly great spy. The bond they develop, along with Clarke and Richardson’s incredible chemistry, holds the show together.
Adrian Lester makes a supporting turn here as the Moscow station chief Dane Walter. His role as our duo’s superior makes him an interesting foil while also giving him the chance to mentor these new spies. We also get a substantial subplot from fellow low-level embassy workers Cheryl (Vic Michaelis) and Ray (Nicholas Podany) regarding their possibly doomed marriage. While they mostly add to the comedic elements of the series, both actors offer just enough to suggest something deeper. Michaelis, in particular, gets to showcase her many facets as the season goes on.
The fusion of laughs, thrills, and in-depth character work proves to be effective for Ponies. There’s also a lot of style here, but it isn’t without reason. It captures a moment of peak Cold War paranoia while also being a great work of spy fiction in its own right. Buoyed by brilliant performances, this is a show that I hope we get more of. At the very least, maybe it can inspire more shows to put this much thought into their writing.
Ponies is currently streaming on Peacock.