All 3 Seasons Of Netflix's The Night Agent, Ranked

Published Aug 22, 2026, 10:30 PM EDT

Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. 

Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones).

The Night Agent is headed into its fourth and final season following its record-setting run on Netflix. The action-thriller TV series, created by Shawn Ryan, is based on the book of the same name by Matthew Quirk. The story within this novel spans across The Night Agent season 1, which premiered in 2023. This left the show's next two completed seasons, as well as the approaching fourth, to forge their own path with thrillingly unique stories. Naturally, this also means that each installment of The Night Agent varies some in story impact and reception.

While The Night Agent has had some low points, the series as a whole has undeniably been a huge success for Netflix. Within the first four days of that season 1 premiere in 2023, the show claimed the prize for Netflix's third-most-viewed debut. A handful of weeks after that, The Night Agent officially became Netflix's sixth most-viewed series overall. Long before the show hit this record, it was renewed for a second season, and a third was approved three months before season 2 even premiered. Now, The Night Agent season 4 is officially in production.

While it's disappointing to hear that The Night Agent is coming to a close with season 4, it makes some sense considering just how quickly this series took off. Critic and viewer reception for season 1 was average, but Netflix couldn't resist leaning into those viewership numbers. Because season 3 was confirmed before season 2 even premiered, no one could have known that this second installment in the action thriller series would perform rather abysmally with general audiences (though a higher percentage of critics left favorable reviews for season 2). The Night Agent season 3 leveled things out, but with all that back and forth, closing things out with season 4 is likely a good idea.

This ultimately means we aren't too far away from being able to make a broad judgment of The Night Agent as a whole. In the meantime, we can consider how the three existing seasons of this high-action, high-conspiracy, high-emotion thriller stack up against one another.

3 The Night Agent Season 2

Christopher Saunders /©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

After that record viewership in season 1, Netflix and viewers alike were eager to see what would come of The Night Agent season 2. Unfortunately, the answer here is complicated. This installment brought back both Gabriel Basso and Lucianne Buchanan as Peter Sutherland and Rose Larkin, effectively continuing the high-intensity romance established in season 1. That was about all that carried over, however, since The Night Agent season 2 centered on a brand-new conspiracy involving a new batch of friends and foes.

The conspiracy in The Night Agent season 2 was higher stakes than that of season 1, which is exactly what we would hope for. This may be why 86% of critics left favorable reviews for this installment (compared to 74% in season 1). Additionally, by this point in the story, we know Peter Sutherland rather well, so season 2 was able to fill some of that space by diving deeper into his background and moral standing.

Of course, it wasn't just all sunshine and rainbows for The Night Agent season 2. Critical reception had improved, but the show's audience score on Rotten Tomatoes plummeted down to only 40%. Viewers' reflections here are, in truth, completely valid. Something about Peter and Rose's relationship completely fell apart in this installment. Our protagonist's options were limited because he was always so worried about Rose. Then, while Buchanan did a fantastic job as always, her character struggled to shine through the mess that was The Night Agent season 2's confused focus.

2 The Night Agent Season 1

Netflix

It can sometimes be hard for a great TV show ever to outdo its first season. Though after season 2 it seemed that this might be the case for The Night Agent, this premiere installment has since turned out to be a satisfactory medium. These are the episodes that started it all, effectively introducing Peter's character and establishing the new, tense, but chemistry-filled connection he shares with the woman he is trying to protect, Rose.

This time around, Buchanan's character was central to the plot and had an identity and arc of her own, rather than just being a support for Peter's growth, as she was in season 2. We also can't duplicate the satisfaction of seeing a low-level agent tasked with just manning a phone that never rings rise to such a high position within a government's efforts against an internal mole and conspiracy. This was the story Quirk originally wrote about, and it translated to the screen spectacularly.

So much of this was lost as The Night Agent expanded into season 2, so this initial installment quickly became the example of what this Netflix series had to, somehow, get back to. Of course, Netflix couldn't just bring the quality back to season 1—it had to surpass it. So, while The Night Agent's first season doesn't rank the highest, its second-place position reflects far better on the series overall.

1 The Night Agent Season 3

Christopher Saunders/©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

While The Night Agent season 2 left critics and audiences divided, season 3 restored harmony. In many ways, the magic of season 1 was reclaimed. The conspiracy landed right back in the White House where it started, restoring that thrill that comes with the mysteries of underground American politics. Additionally, this installment took a much more anthology-like approach, bringing back Peter Sutherland and otherwise featuring predominantly new characters. Unfortunately, this meant that Buchanan's Rose needed to sit this one out.

Said and done, the choice to keep Rose out of The Night Agent season 2 actually allowed this character, as well as Peter, to develop better. It's clear that Peter still cares for and wishes to protect Rose, but there's satisfaction in knowing that she is too far away to get mixed up in his problems. The resounding hope was that she wouldn't be gone for good, but that she would be reintroduced only when it made sense in the plot for her and Peter to reconnect. In the meantime, The Night Agent's action could be turned up several notches.

The Night Agent season 3 was pure, thrilling intensity. Despite Rose's absence, the stakes felt so much higher this time around—yet Peter wasn't limited. Genesis Rodriguez's Isabel De Leon made for a great new character, further enhanced by the complete lack of romantic connection between her and Peter. Finally, as previously mentioned, The Night Agent season 3 needed to come with even more surprises than what we got in season 1. In this regard, especially, Netflix was highly successful. The twists came wave after delicious wave.

The catch here now is that The Night Agent season 4 has a rather high bar to beat. Netflix likely knows as much, which is why this upcoming installment will mark the series' end. The best news yet is that Buchanan's Rose will make her return, which should work especially well if The Night Agent ends with Peter putting away his gun and taking on a more peaceful life. Only time will tell, but for now, season 3 is the one to beat.

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  Peter Sutherland

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  Luciane Buchanan

  Rose Larkin

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The Night Agent is a Netflix original series based on the novel by Matthew Quirk. Gabriel Basso plays a young entry-level FBI agent named Peter Sutherland who handles a hotline in the basement of the White House that never rings. When it finally does, Sutherland finds himself embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy that climbs all the way to the top.