PONIES: The must-see spy drama is coming to Sky Atlantic

CIA operatives hiding in plain sight. Dead husbands with dangerous secrets. Soviet spies lurking around every corner. And two ‘PONIES’ (‘persons of no interest’ in intelligence speak) working anonymously as secretaries in the American Embassy. This slick new spy thriller might be the most entertaining espionage series on telly this year.

PONIES is coming to Sky Atlantic (CH 111) on Friday 22 May at 9 pm, with all eight episodes available on demand the same day. Here’s everything you need to know before diving into one of the year’s most stylish new thrillers. 

Set in 1977 at the height of the Cold War, Bea Grant and Twila Hasbeck are what in intelligence speak refer to as ‘PONIES’ (‘persons of no interest’). Working as secretaries at the American Embassy in Moscow, they live relatively ordinary lives alongside their CIA operative husbands and are largely ignored by the people around them. 

That changes instantly when their husbands are killed during a mission gone wrong.

Desperate for answers and convinced there’s more to the story than they’ve been told, Bea and Twila persuade Moscow station chief Dane Walter (Adrian Lester) to let them return to the Soviet Union as undercover CIA operatives. After all, nobody suspects the secretaries. 

Suddenly, Bea and Twila find themselves navigating dead drops, surveillance, coded messages and dangerous encounters with the KGB – all while uncovering increasingly disturbing truths about their husbands, the agency they work for and each other. 

If you like your drama tense, twist-filled and packed with paranoia, secrets and double agents, PONIES is about to become your latest thriller obsession. The eight-part series stars Emilia Clarke (from Game of Thrones, Me Before You) and Haley Lu Richardson (The White Lotus) as two spies navigating Cold War Moscow after the death of their husbands.

Emilia Clarke leads the series as Bea Grant, the daughter of Soviet immigrants, and a sharp but emotionally guarded woman still struggling to process the death of her husband Chris.  

Opposite her is Haley Lu Richardson as Twila Hasbeck, a bold and and impulsive woman who throws herself into dangerous situation before fully thinking them through. Her natural people skills make her surprisingly good at espionage – even if she’s figuring it all out as she goes along. 

Adrian Lester plays Dane Walter, the exhausted and morally compromised CIA station chief attempting to keep control of an increasingly chaotic operation. Meanwhile, Artjom Gilz stars as Andrei Vasiliev, a ruthless KGB officer whose relationship with Bea becomes increasingly dangerous – and complicated. 

The supporting cast includes Harriet Walter as Bea’s grandmother, Manya Caplan, Nicholas Podany as analyst Ray Szymanski and Vic Michaelis as Ray’s wife, Cheryl.

Series creators Susanna Fogel and David Iserson wanted to tell a Cold War espionage story from a completely different perspective. Unlike many spy dramas built around highly trained agents, PONIES leans into improvisation and two women learning as they go. 

As co-creator David Iserson explained, “the KGB were following everybody all the time,” making Moscow one of the hardest places imaginable for American intelligence operatives to work. That constant surveillance becomes a huge part of the tension in the series, where even routine conversations, dates or trips across the city can turn dangerous very quickly. 

This grounded approach gives PONIES a very different energy from more traditional spy thrillers. Bea and Twila make mistakes, panic under pressure and often rely more on instinct than training, which makes the series feel both more human and far less predictable. 

The answer is: both. 

PONIES absolutely delivers the espionage thrills you’d expect – surveillance operations, KGB interrogations, double agents, blackmail schemes and shocking betrayals. But it also has a sharply funny edge that makes it feel distinct from more self-serious spy dramas. 

That mix of tension and absurdity runs throughout the series. The creators were fascinated by the idea that Cold War espionage could often be both terrifying and strangely ridiculous at the same time – with spies worrying about disguises, awkward conversations and office politics while navigating life-or-death situations. 

The result feels somewhere between a classic John le Carré thriller and a darkly comic character drama.

One of the show’s most compelling storylines is Bea’s increasingly dangerous relationship with KGB officer Andrei Vasiliev, played by Artjom Gilz.  

Initially introduced as a threatening character investigating suspicious activity linked to the American embassy, Vasiliev gradually becomes something far more complicated. Intelligent, manipulative and unexpectedly charming, he develops a tense cat-and-mouse dynamic with Bea that constantly leaves viewers unsure where they’re watching a romance, a power struggle or something much more dangerous.

PONIES nails its 1970s Cold War atmosphere. Filmed primarily in Budapest, Hungary, the series makes brilliant use of its setting. The production design is packed with smoky bars, brutalist buildings, gloomy embassy corridors and richly detailed Soviet interiors. 

The costume design deserves particular praise, too. From oversized coats and patterned scarves to sharply tailored spy disguises, PONIES absolutely understands the appeal of 1970s espionage aesthetics. 

As Bea and Twila dig deeper into the world of Cold War espionage, they quickly realise almost nothing – and nobody – is quite what it seems. Alliances shift constantly, secrets pile up, and several major reveals completely change how you see previous episodes. 

The series also balances its tension with moments of dark humour and unexpected absurdity, giving the show a playful energy alongside all the spy drama. Trust us: by the finale, you’ll immediately want a second season!

PONIES premieres on Sky Atlantic HD (CH 111) on Friday 22 May at 9 pm, with all episodes available on demand on the same day. The eight-part series contains episodes running for approximately an hour, so whether you fancy a full weekend binge or just one twist-filled episode a night, you won’t have to wait around to find out what happens next. 

Sky Atlantic is available on Virgin TV 360 or our Stream box to all Virgin TV customers with a Sky Entertainment package. Don’t have the right package or box? Upgrade to our latest Virgin TV box or add Sky Entertainment channels to your package. 

Not with us yet? Grab our Entertainment broadband and TV bundle with Virgin Media and get Sky Atlantic included so you can watch on Virgin TV.