At the heart of The Assassin is Claire Ashcroft (Keeley Hawes), a former intelligence operative haunted by her past and drawn back into the field after years in quiet exile. Her mission: track down a mysterious figure who has resurfaced with dangerous knowledge about a covert operation that the government will do anything to bury.
She’s not alone. Assigned to assist her is Elias Ward (Freddie Highmore), a brilliant but inexperienced intelligence analyst who has never set foot in the field. Elias is all logic, numbers, and algorithms. Claire, on the other hand, is instinct, experience, and scar tissue. As the unlikely pair is plunged into a conspiracy that stretches across continents — from London to Istanbul to Rome — they discover that nothing is what it seems. Every ally might be a threat. Every truth is layered with lies. And the deeper they go, the more their own pasts come back to haunt them.
Keeley Hawes is no stranger to intelligence dramas, having starred in Bodyguard, Line of Duty, and Spooks. But The Assassin offers her one of her most nuanced and emotionally layered roles yet. As Claire, she is fierce, brittle, and deeply human — a woman who has lost nearly everything but still refuses to give up.
“Claire is someone who has been betrayed at every level — by her government, her friends, even herself,” Hawes says. “What makes her interesting isn’t her strength. It’s her ability to keep going when all she wants to do is disappear.” Early footage shows Claire in shadowy surveillance rooms, bruising hand-to-hand fights, and solitary rooftop scenes where grief and guilt wash over her in silence. It’s a performance that’s already generating early awards buzz — and for good reason.
Freddie Highmore, best known for his long-running turn as Dr. Shaun Murphy on The Good Doctor and his chilling portrayal of Norman Bates in Bates Motel, is venturing into uncharted territory in The Assassin. As Elias, he plays a character far removed from his usual roles — more grounded in reality, but no less complex.
Elias is brilliant with data and patterns but entirely unprepared for the murky world of field espionage. His journey from desk-bound analyst to reluctant field operative is at the emotional core of the series. “This isn’t a story about someone becoming James Bond overnight,” Highmore explains. “Elias is terrified. He’s out of his depth. But he’s also curious, and he wants to do the right thing. That vulnerability is what drew me to him.”
Unlike many standard TV thrillers, The Assassin was shot on location with a cinematic scope. The series makes use of natural light, long tracking shots, and a minimalist color palette to create a world that feels grounded but deeply atmospheric.
Each of the six episodes is directed by Lena Farrow, whose past work includes the acclaimed No Man’s Land. Her signature style — subtle, tense, and visually rich — is on full display here. “We didn’t want explosions every five minutes,” Farrow explains. “We wanted silences that say more than dialogue. We wanted shadows that feel like characters. The threat isn’t just around the corner. It’s already in the room.”
While The Assassin offers the intrigue and action expected of an espionage story, it also dives deeper. The show explores the psychological toll of living a life in shadows. It’s about moral ambiguity, emotional scars, and the quiet terror of knowing too much. There are no gadgets, no quippy one-liners, no invincible agents. Just two deeply flawed people trying to survive a world where truth is a luxury, and trust can get you killed.
Each episode of The Assassin is roughly 55 minutes long and structured like a chapter in a novel. Plot twists are earned, not forced. Action scenes are visceral but never gratuitous. The stakes build slowly until they reach a boiling point in the explosive finale — which, according to insiders, contains a twist “so shocking it changes the meaning of the entire series.”
The supporting cast includes a range of international talent: French star Clémence Poésy plays a rival operative with a personal vendetta; Turkish actor Halit Ergenç portrays a powerful fixer with shifting loyalties; and BAFTA-winner Alex Jennings appears in a chilling role as a government official who knows more than he lets on.
In an era when streaming thrillers often feel like carbon copies of each other, The Assassin promises something refreshingly different: a spy story that puts character before spectacle, emotion before explosion, and consequences before cool. With two stellar leads — Keeley Hawes at her most commanding and Freddie Highmore at his most transformative — this series is poised to become a defining title for both actors. If you’re looking for a drama that grips you, challenges you, and stays with you long after the final scene, The Assassin is your next must-watch.
