'PONIES': Peacock's Cold War Thriller Turns Nobodies into the Most Dangerous Women in the Room
Two widows. No training. Deadly stakes.
Peacock’s PONIES arrives disguised as something familiar: a Cold War spy thriller steeped in muted tones, coded conversations, and slowly grown paranoia. But then the first episode ends—and the show reveals its true hand. This series isn’t the slow burn you think it is. It is a controlled explosion that never settles. And why should it?
That’s boring.
Created and written by Susanna Fogel and David Iserson, with Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) also serving as an executive producer, PONIES reframes espionage through the eyes of two women the system was never set up to see coming. All eight episodes premiere Thursday, January 15, and the series is engineered for momentum. Once it accelerates, it doesn’t let up.
They cannot fight what they do not see coming
Set in Moscow, 1977, PONIES centers on Bea (Emilia Clarke) and Twila (Haley Lu Richardson)—two women working as secretaries at the American Embassy—officially labeled as “PONIs” (Persons of No Interest). They type, they shop, they fetch coffee. Life is utterly mundane and repetitive until their husbands—both CIA operatives—are killed under suspicious circumstances. Bea, a highly educated, Russian-speaking child of Soviet immigrants, knows that the explanation doesn’t add up. Twila, a fearless small-town transplant with a sharp edge and very little patience, knows an even harder truth: no one will investigate unless they force their hand.
What follows is not a glamorous recruitment process. It’s a crash course in danger, deception, and the realization that the CIA—and the geopolitical machine it serves—is far more treacherous than either woman was prepared for.
A plot that uses history against itself
One of PONIES’ smartest choices is anchoring its premise in the gender inequalities of the 1970s. The distinguished looks, body language, and predictable deployment patterns of previous CIA operatives in Moscow have blown their cover. However, the Russians would never suspect women because their social and working status relegated them to being more ornamental than valuable. Because of this stereotype, the CIA (reluctantly) deploys exactly what no one else would ever suspect—those they deem irrelevant and unimportant.
The outcome isn’t an empowerment-by-slogan story. It’s empowerment-by-survival.
Bea and Twila are not trained. They stumble, they improvise, and they make mistakes that place them in grave danger. And the show makes sure not to romanticize their dilemma. The tension that comes from watching two civilians crash course their spycraft abilities isn’t cinematic. It’s wildly unforgiving.
Clarke and Richardson are electric together. Their chemistry feels lived-in, rooted in shared grief and growing trust. Off-screen sisterhood translates directly on-screen, and the series understands that their bond is the real spine of the story. Every risk they take is filtered through one question: will the other survive this?
Clarke’s performance is particularly impressive given the sheer volume of Russian dialogue she carries—something she’s spoken about publicly, including on Today. She delivers it with precision and emotional weight, grounding Bea’s intellect in palpable fear. Richardson, meanwhile, brings volatility and courage to Twila, making her abrasive edge feel more like much-needed armor than uncooperativeness.
By the end of Episode 1, the danger is clear. By Episode 4, the stress is relentless. PONIES peaks early—and then it dares to take it further.
And it does. Repeatedly.
PONIES succeeds because it understands its greatest weapon: perspective. By centering two women the world—and the CIA—dismissed, it exposes the blind spots of power itself. The show is tense, clever, and emotionally grounded—and it uses history not as a backdrop, but as an obstacle its characters must outsmart.
It’s not about becoming spies. It’s about surviving systems that never intended you to matter in the first place. In that, PONIES sinks its teeth in and never lets go.
All eight episodes of PONIES are available to stream Thursday, January 15, on Peacock. Check out the trailer below.
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