# Counterpart (2017)

> A regretful UN bureaucrat discovers his agency guards a gateway to a parallel dimension.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/56474

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 56 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: science fiction, thriller
- Created by: Justin Marks
- Network: STARZ
- Cast: J.K. Simmons, Nazanin Boniadi, Harry Lloyd, Olivia Williams, Sara Serraiocco, Nicholas Pinnock, Betty Gabriel, Ulrich Thomsen
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4643084/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: melancholic, tense, cerebral, paranoid, wry

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its spy-thriller intrigue and the performances of its cast in a high-concept parallel-world story.

## Synopsis

Counterpart (2017-2019) is an American science fiction thriller created by Justin Marks for STARZ, running two seasons and twenty episodes before its cancellation. J.K. Simmons plays Howard Silk, a lowly cog in a bureaucratic United Nations agency who is quietly turning the last corner of a life filled with regret when he learns the office he works for is guarding a secret crossing to a parallel dimension. Nazanin Boniadi plays Clare, and Harry Lloyd plays Peter Quayle, both entangled in the agency's covert operations, while Olivia Williams plays Emily Burton Silk. Each episode pushes Howard deeper into a shadowy espionage world where every decision could cross into a mirror reality populated by a counterpart who lived a different life. The show is a serialized spy thriller built on tense briefings, clandestine meetings and paranoid surveillance, with a grounded, dry wit. Its mood is melancholic, cerebral and tense, with themes of identity, regret and second chances threaded through the conspiracy. Fans of Fringe, The X-Files and Dark will find resonance in its blend of bureaucratic intrigue, parallel worlds and a middle-aged protagonist searching for meaning.

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- [Dark Matter (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/122426)
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