Killing Eve

BBC America’s Killing Eve does a lot, all with deft skill. It’s a tense cat-and-mouse spy thriller that sees MI5 security officer Eve Polastri pursue assassin Villanelle. It’s a vehicle for two amazing performances by respective stars Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer. It’s a masterful and playful recalibration of the genre, by lead writer and executive producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, to create room not just for two women at the helm, but also for women’s interests and circumstances in almost every inch of the plot. Like its psychopathic assassin, Villanelle, it is equal parts terrifying, hilarious, slick, playful, and surprisingly soulful. It cares and asks about loneliness, fears, obsession, trauma, death, and aspiration, and finds time to stop and consider the warring motivations of its two central characters, while never losing a beat as a tightly-paced thriller. Its performances, writing, and vitality are all superb. Racing across London, Paris, Berlin, and Moscow, and brimming with cool, fashion, and wit, it’s so very fun. In sum, it is highly deserving of a Peabody Award.