Netflix's The Night Agent's Ending Gets Compared To The Shield

2 weeks ago 13

Chelsea and Peter in The Night Agent season 3

Published Feb 21, 2026, 10:00 AM EST

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Netflix’s hit spy thriller The Night Agent's creator Shawn Ryan reveals his intricate long-term goals for the action-packed series.

The show is based on Matthew Quirk’s novel of the same name. The series, which is currently in its third season, follows Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso), an FBI agent stationed in the White House basement. He monitors a mysterious phone that never rings, until The Night Agent season 1. After he answers the call, he gets pulled into a dangerous new world that reveals the government's darkest secrets and conspiracies.

In an interview with ScreenRant's Ash Crossan, series creator Ryan opened up about how he approached Peter's development as a character and the unstable world he was forced into. He also revealed that he already has the ending of The Night Agent planned out and how important the show's "endgame" is.

Ryan didn't want to reveal any spoilers, so he obviously remained vague regarding his plans for Peter and the final chapter of The Night Agent as a whole. However, he did reveal that although he has a clear vision for the long-term direction of the spy thriller, he's flexible and willing to adjust the ending. He explained that if he or the show's other writers had an idea that would fit the story better, he would change it as long as it stayed true to the previous seasons of The Night Agent.

Drawing from his experience on his FX drama The Shield, Ryan stressed the importance of staying true to established storylines and character development when it comes to concluding a show. It would be a disservice to the show if important elements from earlier seasons were tossed aside in favor of adding something new. And, he believed that not straying away from The Shield's original storyline was why most of the viewers were happy with the series finale.

Most importantly, the creator added that at the end of the day, The Night Agent is about Peter. So, how he evolves as a character and all the lessons he will learn throughout the show's run should always come first.

I think you have to have a plan. You also have to be willing to change your plan if a better idea comes along.

I do have some experience finishing shows. I did The Shield, which went seven seasons, and I think a lot of people were pleased with how that ended and how that wrapped up. To me, the key is that you always have to be true to what you’ve written before, that you can’t create something new and ignore big things that you did before.

So, we’re thinking a lot about how Peter is different every season. What is he learning along the way? I think there is real character progression with him. We definitely talk about where this is ultimately going and what’s to become of Peter.

All 10 episodes of The Night Agent season 3 are now available to stream on Netflix. The series has not been officially renewed for a fourth season at the time of this article's publication.