Gripping British spy thriller added to Netflix - fans say it's excellent

Netflix has added a gripping British spy thriller that stars famous faces such as Stephen Graham and Toby Jones. A slew of new titles have been added to Netflix UK in the past month, and recently a well-reviewed British limited series dropped onto the streaming service without many people ever noticing. The Secret Agent, which originally aired in 2016 on BBC One, consists of four episodes. It was added to Netflix on June 20 along with a slew of other titles. People praised the storyline and the performances from the British cast in this spy drama, which takes place in the 19th century.

Set in 1886, Toby Jones plays Verloc, the owner of a seedy sex shop in Soho, London. He helps the Russian embassy spy on a group of London anarchists and gets tasked with a deadly mission that puts his real identity at stake. Meanwhile, Vicky McClure plays Winnie, Verloc's wife, who married him to secure a home for her mother and autistic brother. Stephen Graham plays Chief Inspector Heat, a man who hates anarchists and is dead set on taking them down. The cast also includes Charlie Hamblett, Marie Critchley, Tom Goodman-Hill and many other familiar British faces.

The series was met with mixed reviews, but many have praised it for its gripping storyline and the performances from the talented cast. The series was liked by 71% of Google reviewers and has a score of 6.1 out of 10 on IMDb.

One reviewer wrote: "Seeing Toby Jones in this type of role for the first time takes a bit of time to get used to, but he does come through and gives a great performance. A real stand-out performance from Vicky McClure and the rest of the cast gives a good performance too. By episode 2, it starts to get dark and much more enjoyable to watch.

"Episode 3 is really good, it takes some really dark twists and holds your interest."

Another wrote: "The Secret Agent is a period piece like nothing I'd encountered before. There are no heroes, only flawed but passionate people, dangerously entwined with the lives of essentially honest people who are, for the most part, unaware of the dangers brewing beneath their floorboards. I really don't know how anyone could have not been totally refreshed by this cinematic experience."

A third wrote: "Considering when the story was originally written, it has a very modern appeal. The story has twists and turns. Jones's character works for both Britain and Russia in his role as The Secret Agent. He involves the innocent in his attempt to follow orders. The ending is very intriguing."

However, there are some negative reviews of the series. Some even went as far as to call it a "travesty" and "very poor". The Secret Agent is adapted from the 1907 novel of the same name by Joseph Conrad.

It is among a number of titles that were added to Netflix on June 20, overshadowed by more popular series, films and documentaries. Netflix's Grenfell documentary was also added on that day, as was ITV's North Shore.