đĄď¸The Assassin â Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore Lead AMC+âs Sharp New Spy Thriller
- Boxofficehype
- Oct 31
- 4 min read

đĽ âEvery past leaves a trail â and every killer leaves a legacy.â
A new kind of spy thriller has entered the arena, and itâs as dangerous as it is dazzling. The Assassin, now streaming on AMC+, delivers high-octane action, emotional depth, and globe-trotting intrigue â wrapped around a razor-sharp mother-son story.
Created by Harry and Jack Williams (known for The Missing and Baptiste), this slick, whip-smart thriller brings together two powerhouse performers â Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, The Midwich Cuckoos) and Freddie Highmore (The Good Doctor) â for a deeply personal mission that becomes an international crisis.
đ The Premise: Blood Ties and Bullets in Paradise
Julie Green (Keeley Hawes), a retired assassin living a quiet life in the sun-drenched coasts of Greece, thinks sheâs left her violent past behind. But when her estranged son Edward (Freddie Highmore), an investigative journalist, shows up searching for answers about his father â and his motherâs mysterious past â their reunion sets off a chain reaction neither can escape.
When a shadowy global corporation begins hunting them, mother and son must outwit assassins, intelligence agents, and their own fractured trust. The past Julie buried is coming for her â and Edward is caught in the crossfire.
As The Times perfectly puts it, âThe Assassin has all the whip-smart, antic charm of Killing Eve or No Time to Dieâ â stylish, suspenseful, and unexpectedly human.
đ§Ź The Heart of the Story: Family, Secrets, Survival
Beneath the car chases and double agents, The Assassin is a story about two people who barely know each other â trying to survive long enough to finally understand one another.
Julieâs life of secrecy and control collides with Edwardâs life of curiosity and idealism. Every conversation between them is a duel, every mission a test of loyalty. As they travel through Greece, Italy, and North Africa, their emotional distance begins to close â even as the danger grows.
Like Killing Eve or Hanna, the series finds beauty in tension â a mother who kills to protect her son, and a son who wants to save his mother from herself.
đ The Cast: A Global Ensemble of Shadows and Secrets
Keeley Hawes as Julie Green â a retired assassin haunted by her past and determined to protect her future.
Freddie Highmore as Edward Green â an investigative journalist whose search for truth pulls him into a world of deceit.
Jack Davenport as Sean â Julieâs ex-lover and a fellow assassin who blurs the line between ally and enemy.
Shalom Brune-Franklin as Kayla Cross â Edwardâs fiancĂŠe and the daughter of a powerful billionaire, hiding her own agenda.
Alan Dale as Aaron Cross â the ruthless CEO of Cross Global Mining, a man with secrets buried in every continent.
Gina Gershon as Marie Bertrand â a woman with her own reasons for tracking Edward.
David Dencik, Gerald Kyd, and Richard Dormer round out the stellar cast, each adding layers to the showâs international intrigue.
đĽ Style, Suspense, and Sharp Writing
The Assassin moves with precision â sleek cinematography, sun-drenched landscapes, and sharp dialogue that cuts like a blade. Director Harry Williams keeps the pacing taut, balancing quiet emotional moments with explosive action sequences.
Every episode peels back another layer of deception. One moment youâre watching an intimate family drama, the next youâre plunged into a global conspiracy involving private militaries, deepfakes, and buried intelligence operations.
And just when you think you know whoâs good â the story flips the board.
đ§Š Themes: Legacy, Betrayal, and the Cost of Truth
At its core, The Assassin asks one searing question: Can we ever escape who we used to be?
Julieâs past as a killer clashes with her desire to be a mother. Edwardâs relentless curiosity becomes his greatest weapon â and his greatest vulnerability. As the two uncover secrets that reach into governments and corporations, they must confront a chilling truth: some enemies wear familiar faces.
âď¸ A Cinematic Global Adventure
From the quiet beaches of Greece to the chaos of desert raves and European capitals, The Assassin unfolds like a modern Bond film â but with more heart. The showâs locations are as important as its characters, symbolizing Julieâs longing for peace and the inevitability of being pulled back into the shadows.
The stunning visuals, paired with a moody score and immersive sound design, give the series a cinematic texture rarely seen in television thrillers.
đľď¸ââď¸ Why You Should Watch It
If you loved Bodyguard, Killing Eve, or The Night Manager, The Assassin belongs at the top of your watchlist. Itâs stylish yet emotional, thrilling yet introspective â a spy series that knows action means nothing without heart.
Keeley Hawes delivers one of her most commanding performances yet, while Freddie Highmore brings warmth and depth to a role that could easily have been overshadowed by the showâs danger and drama.
Their chemistry grounds the story â turning bullets and betrayals into something heartbreakingly human.
⥠Final Verdict: A Spy Thriller With a Soul
The Assassin isnât just another espionage series. Itâs a deeply human exploration of guilt, legacy, and redemption â all wrapped in a smart, fast-paced, and beautifully shot narrative.
As Julie says in one of the showâs defining moments:
âIâve spent a lifetime hiding from what I was. But the past doesnât fade â it reloads.â
đĽ Watch The Assassin â streaming exclusively on AMC+.Because every secret has a price. And every assassin⌠has someone worth saving. đđśď¸



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