Note: this is a mostly spoiler-free review of all six episodes of AMC’s The Little Drummer Girl. I’ll confine all spoiler-y discussion to a final section at the end.
In the old days, it was debatable as to whether film or television is the better medium for John le Carré adaptations. You really need a feature film budget to fully capture the scope and globetrotting appeal of these spy stories. On the other hand, given how complex and even convoluted these stories can be, it helps to have multiple hours in which to really explore these characters and their conflicted loyalties. But thanks to this golden age of prestige TV, we now have the best of both worlds. Like 2016’s The Night Manager before it, The Little Drummer Girl combines slick production values with a talented cast and a complex story full of betrayal and deception.