Ponies, on Peacock

During the Cold War, Communist propaganda trumpeted the high numbers of women licensed to practice medicine in the USSR. They neglected to mention, as a profession, doctors lacked the sort of status they were afforded in the West (and faced a constant threat of purges). In reality, Soviet Socialism utterly failed to liberate, economically or sexually. However, the Party’s misogyny becomes key to two new CIA recruits’ covers. As the widows of suddenly deceased embassy staffers (well known to be CIA officers), the regime considers them persons of no interest (PONI’s) in co-creators Susanna Fogel & David Iserson’s eight-part Ponies, which premieres tomorrow on Peacock.

Chris Grant and Tom Hasbeck were working a really big source when, suddenly, the flight nobody knew they were taking crashed over Siberia. The grieving widows, Bea Grant and Twila Hasbeck were quickly ushered out of the country. However, as they puzzled over the mysterious official story, they convince Moscow Station Chief Dane Walter to usher them back into Russia. As returning embassy clerical staff, they could investigate without arousing the KGB’s suspicions. To the Commies, they are just women and therefore PONI’s.

It turns out they complement each other better than Walter expected. Grant speaks Russian fluently and is well versed in Russian history and culture. She can also operate the latest 1970s office devices. Hasbeck doesn’t know any of that, but she has the street smarts and survival instincts clandestine operatives need. Together, they generate regular stress headaches for Walter. However, they regularly uncover fresh intel, even including some secrets Walter hoped to withhold from them.

The stakes really start to rise when Grant starts dating Andrei Vasiliev, under her Belorussian school teacher alias. Technically married, Vasiliev is a ruthless counter-intelligence officer, leading (and exploiting) the KGB’s industrialized Kompromat campaign. He also seems to be responsible for a rash of murdered sex-workers (the Soviet definitely did not call them that), which Hasbeck sleuths out, despite the state media’s strenuous efforts to sweep it under the rug.

Throughout Ponies, Hasbeck and Grant kvetch like Peter Falk and Alan Arkin in The In-Laws. Yet, Fogel, Iserson, and their co-writers never let the bickering banter overshadow the Cold War intrigue. This is surprisingly sophisticated skullduggery, that springs several clever surprises as it chugs along. For the most part, it largely casts the Communists as the villains. Without question, Vasiliev is unambiguous cruel and unpredictably violent. Plus, it is crystal clear from the first minutes, Communism has been an abject failure, judging from the depressed and dilapidated conditions in Moscow.

Eventually, Fogel and Iserson start revealing the CIA’s ethical flexibility, but by that time, Vasiliev has racked up an impressive body-count and menaced countless more. In an unnecessary, unforced error, George H.W. Bush deserves a better depiction than he receives here (played by Patrick Fabian), in really every respect. Regardless, the series clearly gives free enterprise the overwhelming advantage over socialism. Unfortunately, the careful plotting starts to unravel down the stretch and the ultimate conclusion is deeply unsatisfying (and quite far from conclusive).

Throughout it all, Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson maintain nice odd couple chemistry. Adrian Lester adds a lot of complexity and depth as Walter, the troubled Chief of Station. Nicholas Podany also elevates Walter’s nebbish deputy, Ray Szymanski, embracing his foibles, but still presenting him with the respect a dedicated CIA Officer deserves. Perhaps most importantly, Artjom Gilz is viscerally intense and unrelentingly chilling as Vasiliev.

The 1970s period details also add a lot, particularly the vintage prog rock records that constantly spin on turntables, to mask conversations from those most likely eavesdropping. Granted, it sputters towards the end, but maybe the real story is just how long directors Foley, Viet Nguyen, and Alley Pankiw maintain the slick pacing and paranoid tension. Easily recommended because of how much it does right, Ponies starts streaming tomorrow (1/15) on Peacock.