Which brings us to Hostage, which drops on Netflix this week. Once again, we have women in the throes of the (this time political) action, with Suranne Jones playing the British Prime Minister – who must grapple with her familial and career expectations when her husband Alex is abducted. To add to the drama, visiting French president Vivienne Toussaint (Julie Delpy) has the authority to help rescue Alex, but is blackmailed with a scandalous secret of her own to convince her to step aside. Cue the political game playing, not to mention some serious action sequences and double crosses.
Both The Assassin and Hostage – action thrillers in their own right – also honour the impact of motherhood on the identity of these powerful women. We see Hawes’ Julie navigate a seriously strained relationship with her estranged son Edward, who is visiting her in retirement on a remote Greek island, while Jones’ Abigail must face her daughter’s wrath when she doesn’t immediately step down from office to capitulate to her husband’s kidnapper’s demands and save his life. Both characters face the “cold and unfeeling” stereotype thrown at women in positions of power and action, one that isn’t applied to men in the same way.
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Catherine Zeta Jones is also set to play a former cocaine kingpin (turned art dealer) in upcoming Amazon TV series Kill Jackie, who must deal with past foes who have returned to murder her. Add in Slow Horses star Kristin Scott Thomas’ cracking performance as deputy director general of MI5 Diana Taverner and the exciting announcement of a BBC Killing Eve prequel TV series Honey, telling the origin story of Fiona Shaw’s twisted-yet-hilarious character Carolyn Martens, and we have ample proof that there’s plenty of appetite and creative space for women to have their own action hero, spy or political TV stories. Relying on making a mark on an already male-dominated franchise instead of striking out with different on-screen characters and plots feels too much like playing a man’s game to me.
