Killing Eve: Season One

BBC America’s clever, compelling, and mordantly funny spy thriller stars Sandra Oh, who earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations as Eve Polastri, a low-level security agent for MI5 who has traced a series of unsolved assassinations to a single, unidentified contract killer. Jodie Comer steals every scene as Villanelle, a brilliant, unpredictable Russian assassin in Paris who draws attention to herself in a particularly flamboyant hit that leaves a trail of dead bodies. Eve is made head of a covert team to track down the mysterious killer and as they close in on her identity, Villanelle identifies Eve and turns the conflict into a game of cat-and-mouse, emphasis on “game.” The series, shot in England and Europe and featuring an international cast, adds ingenious twists to the familiar spy thriller conventions of brilliant killers and obsessive agents, and not just because the protagonists are women in a male-dominated world. Based on novels by Luke Jennings, the series was created and developed by actress/writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag). Compiling all eight episodes from the 2018 debut season, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes. Highly recommended.