The Night Agent Killer Identity Change From Book Explained By Creator

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Night Agent season 1.The Night Agent showrunner Shawn Ryan explains why the Netflix action thriller deviated from the source material and changed the identity of the killer. The series is based on American author Matthew Quirk’s 2019 novel of the same name and stars Gabriel Basso as FBI agent Peter Sutherland, who finds himself working alongside former cybersecurity CEO Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan) and uncovers a mole that has planted itself in the highest levels of government. The Night Agent earned high viewership numbers across its debut weekend, receiving the third-highest debut for a new Netflix series.

When speaking to Collider following the release of The Night Agent season 1 on Netflix, Ryan addressed changes from the original novel that were made in the television adaptation, including the identity of the series’ killers. The showrunner explained that since Quirk approved his desire to change certain details, he recycled character ideas from other projects that he’d worked on to utilize characters who would work better within the medium of television without having to rely on exposition. Check out Ryan’s full explanation below:

It did. There were some changes we made to the book. First of all, the book’s fantastic, and everyone should go buy the book and read the book. It’s a different experience than watching the show. There’s a lot that’s similar, but there is a lot that’s different. And I talked with Matthew Quirk, the novelist, about that. He was great with, “Hey, this is gonna be a different thing,” and said, “You do it the way that you need to do it.” But the spine and the basic hook and the main characters, in Peter and Rose and Diane Farr, are all lifted pretty exact from the book. And then, we had to flesh out the world in a bigger way. There’s a different killer.

Dale and Ellen, the boyfriend and girlfriend assassins were creations that I had when I was working on my Secret Service idea, that I thought would be better on TV. In the book, it’s an older Russian assassin working by himself, and it’s a hard thing in TV to know what that character is thinking. In a book, you can do that with the exposition and tell the audience what the character is thinking, but that doesn’t work on TV. And so, I thought it would be more interesting to see these two people who can interact with each other, and you get a better sense of them that way. So, it’s just on a case by case basis by going, what’s in the book? Will that work? If not, what’s something that could work? We never want to stray too far from the book. We want it to feel like the same world as the book, but how does this world get bigger and how does it fill out our 10 episodes?

Will The Night Agent’s Story Changes Affect Future Seasons?

In one of The Night Agent‘s many twists, Dale (Phoenix Raei) and Ellen (Eve Harlow) are revealed to be the ones behind the murder of Rose’s aunt and uncle. The couple received the orders from individuals behind the Metro bombing when Rose’s relatives got too close to uncovering the truth. These changes mark a departure from the original novel, where both the mole in the White House and the assassin had ties to Russia. Other changes to The Night Agent include the introduction of Vice President Ashley Redfield (Christopher Shyer) and his daughter, Maddie (Sarah Desjardins), who are new additions created by Ryan.

While The Night Agent‘s changes deviate from the narrative of the original story, the series’ new elements could prove to be beneficial to the show’s long-term direction. With The Night Agent season 2 getting renewed following the series’ high viewership across its opening weekend, there will be more adventures with Peter Sutherland following his promotion to Night Agent. As the series is based on a single novel, Ryan is free to develop Sutherland’s future in whatever direction he sees fit, as well as expand on new elements and characters that he introduced.

While those familiar with the original novel may have criticisms about changes made to The Night Agent, Ryan’s explanation gives an understandable reason. While individual assassins can have their motivations and character explored through internal dialogue, dividing the character into two separate figures can allow for an easier transition to television. Furthermore, certain changes can offer audiences a glimpse into Ryan’s vision for The Night Agent season 2 by showing his priorities with certain story details added to the narrative.

Source: Collider