# The Old Man (2022)

> A retired CIA operative living off the grid must confront his buried past when an assassin comes for him.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/93247

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 15
- Episode runtime: 56 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: drama, action, thriller
- Created by: Jonathan E. Steinberg, Robert Levine
- Network: FX
- Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, Alia Shawkat, E.J. Bonilla, Navid Negahban, Bill Heck, Jacqueline Antaramian, Leem Lubany
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5645432/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: tense, paranoid, wry, downbeat, gritty

## What critics say

Viewers find Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow compelling in a tense espionage thriller whose early momentum fades in its later episodes.

## Synopsis

The Old Man (2022-2024) is an American espionage drama series created by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine for FX, based on the novel by Thomas Perry. Jeff Bridges plays Dan Chase, a former CIA operative who abandoned his career decades earlier and now lives quietly off the grid, until an assassin arrives to kill him. John Lithgow co-stars as Harold Harper, a figure from Chase's past, while Alia Shawkat and Amy Brenneman round out the principal cast. The engine of the show is simple and urgent: Chase must reconcile the life he escaped with the threats now closing in, moving between hideouts, old contacts and hard choices. The series runs two seasons and fifteen episodes, with each season telling one continuing story rather than standalone cases. Its look is grounded and dusty, with a tense, paranoid undercurrent and bursts of brutal action that sit beside moments of wry, downbeat humor. Viewers who enjoy aging spies and slow-burn espionage will find resonance here, in the vein of Slow Horses and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The show was canceled after its second season, leaving its story open-ended.

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