The Cold War has always been a fertile time for storytelling. It’s why James Bond, Indiana Jones, and The Americans have all been placed in the midst of the global conflict. Ponies hopes to join the acclaim of those other shows and movies while marking a big win for Peacock.
What is Ponies about?
Set in Moscow in 1977, Ponies follows two wives in very different relationships. Bea (Emilia Clarke) is happily married to Chris (Louis Boyer) while he works undercover for the CIA. Meanwhile, Twila (Haley Lu Richardson) appears stuck in a broken marriage, where her husband holds her infertility against her. During a state dinner, Bea and Twila wait for their husbands but are soon informed they were killed in action.
Unable to let their partners’ deaths go unsolved, the women pitch an idea to the local CIA chief, Dane (Adrian Lester). They can return to Moscow and work as undercover agents without drawing suspicion from the Soviets. If Russia will not use women as agents, why would America? The two suddenly find themselves embroiled in high-stakes espionage battles, with the sadistic and ambitious KGB Agent Andrei (Artjom Gilz) lurking around Moscow.
Richardson and Clark are a winning team.
Led by Haley Lu Richardson and Emilia Clarke, Ponies takes a decidedly lighter tone than The Night Manager. This allows for each actress to showcase their strongest talents as a performer. Richardson is allowed to be endlessly folksy and charming, playing a variation on her Support the Girls character with more smarts. Meanwhile, Clarke has the runway to serve several emotional breakdowns, reminding us of her best sequence on Thrones.
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Having two actresses with this much talent allows Ponies to mix up character combinations at the drop of a hat. This yields surprising results, with each actress defining unique chemistry with their co-stars. The tones and feelings might shift, but David Iserson keeps his hands on the steering wheel to guide us through potentially frustrating bumps on lesser shows. Most importantly, Ponies is at its best when they are together, allowing everything to fit into place.
Additionally, Ponies boasts an extremely deep cast. The two leads certainly dominate the show, but with tons of makeup, wigs, and non-English actors, Iserson and Fogel surround them with memorable characters and great performers. The standout, bar none, is Harriet Walter. The actress exudes emotion even in stillness, using her eyes to communicate every microthought and worry.
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Adrian Lester is a Tony-nominated actor who has never quite received roles equal to his talent. That changes with Ponies, and he becomes the heartbeat of the series by the end of the season. Vic Michaelis sheds her sketch comedy history and delivers an amazingly complex role, despite her designation as a secretary. Gilz terrifies, instantly ranking among the best villains of the past eighteen months on TV. Truly an outstanding and scary performance.
The period setting helps the show look unique.
Setting a show in the 1970s is far from a unique idea, but the Moscow setting helps keep us on our toes. Iserson, Fogel, and the writers throw great examples of spy craft into the teleplays, and the craft team knocks out the execution on every level.
The cinematography occasionally falls into the somewhat sterile look that’s taken over many shows, but in this setting, it helps add to the hyperrealist feeling for the characters. If they have to keep an eye on everyone walking by them, so do we, leading to a sense of paranoia that can pop from any corner of the screen.
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Additionally, the wigs, costumes, and sets are gorgeous. They evoke the era perfectly, while once again giving us the feeling of unreality. The cast has fun playing dress-up, but more importantly, every dress, fake beard, or hat has a purpose. The layers of artificiality are a feature of Ponies, and each director expertly uses them to their advantage.
Is Ponies worth watching?
Yes, Ponies might even be the better spy show releasing in January. For me, it was more fun, sillier, and still packed an emotional punch. While there might not be a single performance as good as Hiddleston’s in The Night Manager, the ensemble is much stronger on this show. Richardson and Clarke are excellent, and Peacock should sprint to renew for another season.
Ponies releases on January 15, 2026. All eight episodes were supplied for this review.
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