Chrissy vs Ponies E. 1 and 2

Canadian Correspondent Chrissy has watched the first two episodes of the domestic spies thriller series PONIES on Peacock and is here with a debriefing.

PONIES

Starring: Emilia Clarke, Haley Lu Richardson, Adrian Lester

Streaming on Peacock

Two secretaries at the American embassy in1970s Moscow become CIA operatives after their husbands are killed, uncovering a Cold War conspiracy behind the tragedy.

Beatrice (Emilia Clarke) and Twila (Haley Lu Richardson) are the cold war spy duo that I didn’t know I needed to spice up my 2026. I will admit that a certain amount of a suspension of belief is required to enjoy this show, and I gladly did just that.

Ponies, which stands for “Person of No Interest,” is a period piece set in 1970s Moscow. The music, costuming, and set design lend so much to the fabulous acting and chemistry between the two leads and their boss, CIA agent Dane Water played by Adrian Lester. The supporting cast is wonderful also.

The opening scene of the pilot opens with Bea and Twila’s American Operative husbands on an extraction mission of an American spy from the clutches of the KGB. We get a car chase and some excitement, but those guys only last the first twenty minutes of the show. Dying off-camera and making way for their wives to take center stage as unlikely spies themselves to find out what happened to their husbands.

This is a very unrealistic scenario. That the American government which includes a brief appearance by 1970’s George Bush Senior, would send two inexperienced grieving widows to Moscow to work undercover, but as I mentioned above, if you can suspend that belief, Ponies is a lot of fun.

That thing I said about suspending belief is easy. Clarke and Richardson are beautiful but not in a 2026 Botox, filler way. (I say this with no judgement.) Their faces move and look…..well real. Which works really well in a period piece like this.

The heart of the show is female camaraderie. Clarke and Richardson have an odd couple energy and chemistry. They are so much fun to watch both together and individually. This show kind of has Buffy vibes. I am reminded of Buffy and Faith specifically. (If you know you know.)

It’s a show more about relationships than actual cold war spying. As if Buffy and The Americans had a baby and it was called Ponies. You get the vibe right?

I can’t wait to watch the rest of the episodes. January has been a bit of a drag, and this is a show created for entertainment, which is just what we need.

Chrissy Winters is a writer who lives surrounded by golden wheat fields and swaying soybeans in rural Ontario, Canada.  A graduate of Simon Fraser University’s The Writers Studio, Chrissy is a wife and mother of three and dog mom of two.  She loves creating characters, reviewing books, film and television and is fueled by exercise and coffee. Connect with her on Instagram @chrissyreadsandwrites.

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