''Condor'' is an American

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

television series based on the novel '' Six Days of the Condor'' by

James Grady James Grady may refer to: * James Grady (footballer) James Grady (born 14 March 1971) is a Scottish former professional footballer who spent the majority of his career in the top two divisions in Scottish football. He played as a striker, and ...

and its 1975 film adaptation ''

Three Days of the Condor ''Three Days of the Condor'' is a 1975 American spy thriller film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, and Max von Sydow. The screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr. and David Rayfiel was based on the ...

'' written by Lorenzo Semple Jr. and David Rayfiel. The series stars

Max Irons Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons (born 17 October 1985) is an English and Irish actor. He is known for his roles in films such as ''Red Riding Hood (2011 film), Red Riding Hood'' (2011), ''The White Queen (miniseries), The White Queen'' (2013), '' ...

. The series was created by Todd Katzberg, Jason Smilovic, and Ken Robinson and premiered on June 6, 2018 on

Audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

. In July 2018, the series had been renewed for a second season, although in January 2020, Audience announced it would be ending operations in its current format. The second season, already filmed at the time of the announcement, premiered on June 9, 2020, on

C More C More Entertainment AB was a pay television company that previously operated as Canal+ (French TV channel), Canal+. It targeted Nordic countries and had a separate channel in Sweden (C More Film). The main competitors of C More Entertainment ...

and

RTÉ2 RTÉ2 (formerly branded as RTÉ 2 from 1978–88, Network 2 from 1988–97, N2 from 1997–2004 and RTÉ Two from 2004–14) is an Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched on 2 Novemb ...

. In December 2020, its existing two seasons were picked up by

Epix MGM+ (formerly known as Epix; pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as eᴘix), is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the MGMPlus Entertainment subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which is itself a subsidiary ...

. They began premiering the second season on November 7, 2021.

Premise

Joe Turner is an idealistic

millennial Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ...

who joins the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

and hopes to reform it from within. He stumbles onto a secret plan that threatens the lives of millions. When professional killers massacre everyone in his office, Joe is forced into a battle with the most dangerous elements of the military-industrial complex.

Cast and characters

Main

as Joe Turner, a CIA analyst whose fellow agents in the research and development office are all killed. Marko Vujicic portrays a young Joe Turner in a recurring role. *

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. For his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award for B ...

as Bob Partridge (season 1; guest season 2), Joe's paternal uncle by marriage and the man who recruited him into the CIA. *

Leem Lubany Leem Lubany (, ; born ) is an Israeli Arab-Palestinian actress. She is known for her role as Nadia in the 2013 film ''Omar''. She also played Gabrielle Joubert in the American television series ''Condor'' (2018–2020). Her most recent project ...

as Gabrielle Joubert (season 1; guest season 2), a former Mossad assassin working for the CIA operating as a freelancer. *

Angel Bonanni An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in various ...

as Deacon Mailer (season 1), an assassin. *

Kristen Hager Kristen Hager (born January 2, 1983) is a Canadian actress. She co-starred in films '' Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem'' (2007) and '' Wanted'' (2008), and played Leslie Van Houten in the independent film ''Leslie, My Name Is Evil'' (2009). From 20 ...

as Mae Barber, the wife of Joe's CIA colleague Sam. *

Mira Sorvino Mira Katherine Sorvino (; born ) is an American actress. She rose to stardom with her performance as a prostitute in the comedy film ''Mighty Aphrodite'' (1995), which won her both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Academy Award for Best S ...

as Marty Frost (season 1), Bob's former lover who leads the official investigation into Joe's alleged crime. *

Bob Balaban Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. Aside from his acting career, Balaban has directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films, and was one of the pro ...

as Reuel Abbott, the Deputy Director of the CIA. * Toby Leonard Moore as Gordon Piper (season 2) *

Constance Zimmer Constance Zimmer (born October 11, 1970) is an American actress. She rose to prominence playing Dana Gordon on the HBO series ''Entourage (American TV series), Entourage'' (2005–11) and List of Boston Legal characters#Claire Simms, Claire Sim ...

as Robin Larkin (season 2) * Alexei Bondar as Vasili Sirin (season 2) *

Isidora Goreshter Isidora Goreshter (born October 24, 1981) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Svetlana on the American TV series '' Shameless'' from seasons 3 to 8. Early life Goreshter was born and raised in Long Beach, California, where s ...

as Kat Gnezdy (season 2) * Jonathan Kells Phillips as Akardyr Volk (season 2) * Eric Johnson as Tracy Crane (season 2)

Recurring

* Katherine Cunningham as Kathy Hale (season 1) *

Brendan Fraser Brendan James Fraser ( ; born December 3, 1968) is an American-Canadian actor. List of awards and nominations received by Brendan Fraser, His accolades include an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a nomination for a Golden Globe A ...

as Nathan Fowler (season 1) * Gage Graham-Arbuthnot as Jude Barber * Sam McCarthy as Sam Barber Jr. *

Kristoffer Polaha Kristoffer Polaha is an American actor. He is best known for his starring roles on television as Jason Matthews in ''North Shore (2004 TV series), North Shore'', Nate Bazile, Nathaniel "Baze" Bazile in ''Life Unexpected'', and Henry Butler in '' ...

as Sam Barber (season 1) * Steve Belford as Manfredi (season 1) * Jamie Robinson as The Watcher (season 1) * Christina Moses as Sharla Shepard (season 1) *

Gabriel Hogan Gabriel Hogan (born May 17, 1973) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his continuing role on the hit cable television firefighter comedy series ''Tacoma FD'', CBC/Up TV/Netflix’s '' Heartland'' and the drama ''Condor''. Background Ho ...

as Boyd Ferris (season 1) * Ellen Wong as Sarah Tan (season 1) * Michelle Vergara Moore as Carla Tizon (season 2) *

Kate Vernon Katherine Elizabeth Vernon (born 1961) is a Canadian-born American actress. She is known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1984–1985), the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film ...

as Lily Partridge * Samer Salem as Ammar Nazari (season 1) *

Mouna Traoré Mouna Traoré (born May 4, 1995) is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. She is known for her performances in a variety of television series, such as Global TV's ''Rookie Blue'' (2012), CBC's ''Murdoch Mysteries'' (2015–2018), and Netflix's ''Th ...

as Iris Loramer (season 1) *

Dalmar Abuzeid Dalmar Abuzeid (born October 23, 1990) is a Canadian actor. He initially became known for portraying Danny Van Zandt in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' from 2004 until 2010. Since ''Degrassi'', he has appeared in a variety of television serie ...

as Caleb Wolfe (season 1) *

Melissa O'Neil Melissa O'Neil (born July 12, 1988) is a Canadian actress and singer. In 2005, O'Neil won the third season of ''Canadian Idol''. As an actress, she is known for her roles as Rebecca /Two/Portia Lin in the science fiction series ''Dark Matter (20 ...

as Janice (season 1) * Kjartan Hewitt as Harold Floss (season 1) *

Jess Salgueiro Jess Salgueiro is a Canadian actress, known for her roles in ''Frasier'', '' The Boys'', ''Workin' Moms'', ''The Expanse'', ''Letterkenny'', ''Orphan Black'', and ''Tiny Pretty Things''. As well as having a recurring role in season four of ''The ...

as Jada * Tennille Read as Ellie *

Jamie McShane Jamie McShane is an American actor best known for his roles on ''Sons of Anarchy'', '' Southland'', and ''Bloodline'', and as Agent Jackson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films ''Thor'' (2011) and '' The Avengers'' (2012). In 2021, he ap ...

as Gareth Lloyd * John Bourgeois as Nathan's father (season 1) * Taylor Thorne as Chloe Fowler *

Jean-Michel Le Gal Jean-Michel Le Gal is a Canadian stage, television and film actor and creator. Early life Le Gal was born in Toronto, Ontario to a francophone stage actress and television/music producer. He began acting at 10, opposite a squirrel puppet in the ...

as Elden Loramer (season 1) * Ahmed Muslimani as Saeed Abu-Saeed *

Rita Volk Margarita Volkovinskaya (, born September 3, 1990), known professionally as Rita Volk, is an Uzbekistani-American actress. She is known for her role as Amy Raudenfeld in the MTV romantic comedy series ''Faking It (2014 TV series), Faking It''. ...

as Polina (season 2)

Guest

Julian Black Antelope Julian Black Antelope is an indigenous actor and television broadcaster from Canada.Eric Volmers"Julian Black Antelope puts Indigenous stories in front of the camera and First Nations crews behind it" ''Calgary Herald'', March 4, 2025. He is most n ...

as Mika ("What Loneliness") * James McDougall as Tim Edward Mburu ("What Loneliness") * Roger Dunn as Dr. Lappe ("What Loneliness") * Kevin Claydon as Patrick ("The Solution to All Problems") * Jennifer Foster as Sophia Fowler ("A Good Patriot") *

Raven Dauda Raven Dauda is a Canadian writer and actor. She has appeared in numerous roles in film and television, and wrote and starred in a one-woman show, ''Addicted''. Early life and education Dauda was born in Ottawa in 1973 to a Jamaican mother and a ...

as Hoyle ("A Good Patriot") *

Allison Hossack Allison Hossack is a Canadian actress. Early years Born in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada, Hossack grew up in Killarney, Manitoba, and participated in musical theatre productions while a student there. She began her studies at Brandon Universit ...

as Melanie Abbot ("No Such Thing")

Episodes

Each episode's title is borrowed from a quote, which is displayed along with its author.

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2020)

Production

Development

On May 13, 2016, it was announced that

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

had given the production a series order. Production companies involved with the series were reported to include

Skydance Television Skydance Media, LLC, also known as Skydance Productions, is an American media production and finance company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by David Ellison in 2006, the company specializes in films, animation, television, video games ...

and

MGM Television Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, formerly known as MGM/UA Television, is the television studio arm of the American film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), specializing in broadcast syndication and the production and distribution of television sh ...

. On February 6, 2017, it was announced that Jason Smilovic and Todd Katzberg would write the series. Smilovic would also act as showrunner and executive produce alongside Katzberg,

David Ellison David Ellison (born January 9, 1983) is an American film producer, former actor, and the founder and CEO of Skydance Media. He is the son of multibillionaire and Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison. Early life and education David Ellis ...

, Dana Goldberg, and Marcy Ross. On March 27, 2017,

Andrew McCarthy Andrew Thomas McCarthy (born November 29, 1962) is an American actor, travel writer, and television director. He is most known as a member of the Brat Pack, with roles in 1980s films such as '' St. Elmo's Fire'', ''Pretty in Pink'', ''Mannequi ...

mentioned in an interview with ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' that he would serve as an executive producer for the series and direct a few episodes. On April 6, 2017, it was announced that

Lawrence Trilling Lawrence Trilling (born June 29, 1966) is an American television director, producer, showrunner, and writer. He has directed nearly 150 hours of television to date, and served as Producer/Executive Producer on such series as '' Felicity, Alias, ...

would direct the series' first three episodes and act as an executive producer. On July 27, 2018, it was announced during the annual

Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 American and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts appli ...

's summer press tour that the series had been renewed for a second season. In February 2022, a third season was announced to be in development.

Casting

On February 6, 2017, it was announced that

had been cast in the series' lead role. In April 2017, it was reported that

, and Angel Bonanni had joined the main cast and that

, Christina Moses, Katherine Cunningham,

, and

had been cast in recurring roles. On August 25, 2017, it was announced that

and Ellen Wong had joined the cast in a recurring capacity.

Filming

Principal photography for the series was expected to last from April 23 to August 15, 2017 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada. Filming primarily took place at

Cinespace Film Studios Cinespace Film Studios is a group of film studio facilities in the US and Canada. It was founded in 1988 by Greek-Canadian Nick Mirkopoulos. The studio started with a facility in Vaughan, a suburb of Toronto, which had been in operation since the ...

Kipling Avenue Kipling Avenue is a street in the cities of Toronto and Vaughan, Ontario, Vaughan in Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, 6 concessions (12 km) west from Yonge Street, and is a major north–south arterial road. It consists of thre ...

facility. On May 30, 2017, Jack Lakey, a ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' columnist, contacted the city's film liaison office, after ''Condor'' crew members allegedly bullied local residents. In Lakey's follow-up article the next day he quoted film industry workers, who supported those working on the production. Filming for the second season began on April 29, 2019 and ended on August 29, 2019.

Release

Marketing

On February 22, 2018, Audience released a behind-the-scenes video for the series.

Premiere

On March 10, 2018, the series held its official premiere in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

at the annual

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

Film Festival. Audience also hosted an interactive experience called "Condor Headquarters" during the festival. Guests to the exhibit were offered the chance to participate in authentic CIA activities such as skill tests, physical and digital technology tactics,

lie detection Lie detection is an assessment of a verbal statement with the goal to reveal a possible intentional deceit. Lie detection may refer to a cognitive process of detecting deception by evaluating message content as well as non-verbal cues. It also may r ...

, and environmental analysis. The experience also allowed guests to win prizes and screen exclusive content from the series. In June 2018, the series was screened at the annual

ATX TV Festival ATX Television Festival is an annual event based in Austin, Texas, that celebrates and showcases the past, present, and future of the television industry. Screenings, Q&As, cast reunions, and industry panel discussions take place over four days an ...

in Austin, Texas. A question-and-answer session followed the screening featuring director/executive producer Lawrence Trilling and cast members Leem Lubany, Katherine Cunningham, Kristen Hager, and Kristoffer Polaha.

Reception

On the review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the series holds an 86% approval rating with an average rating of 6.67 out of 10 based on 14 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "''Condor'' never aspires to be a realistic depiction of spy games – instead, it excels at evoking a uniquely 21st century brand of paranoia with its slick concept and propulsive pacing."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 66 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In a positive review, '' IndieWire''s Ben Travers praised the series calling it "a Smartly Expanded Adaptation" and saying that it was "a solid spy story that updates the right elements without tarnishing old treasures."

References

External links

* * {{Audience Network 2018 American television series debuts 2010s American drama television series 2020s American drama television series American English-language television shows MGM+ original programming Audience (TV network) original programming Live action television shows based on films Television series by MGM Television Television series about the Central Intelligence Agency Television shows filmed in Toronto American spy thriller television series Television series by Paramount Television Television series by Skydance Television