'London Spy' is a Slow-Burning, But Thrilling Gay Drama

"London Spy" is a bit of a red herring. Those expecting a cryptic espionage drama akin to a James Bond caper may want to wait for the upcoming season of "The Americans" or tune into the 2015 sleeper hit "Deutschland 83." The BBC miniseries' title is a bit misleading: "London Spy" is set in London sure, and it is about spies... but it's much more than that.

"London Spy," which first aired in the U.K. on BBC late last year and is currently airing on BBC America and is available on demand, stars out actor Ben Whishaw who plays Daniel, a scrappy young club kid stuck at a dead end job at a warehouse. After meeting the hunky Alex (Edward Holcroft), an enigmatic and closeted young man who says he's never been in a same-sex relationship, the two develop a close and intimate relationship over the next eight months. That's until, one day, Alex vanishes without a trace.

About a week after his disappearance, Daniel mysteriously finds the keys to Alex's home and goes there to only discover a hidden attic full of BDSM toys. He also finds his boyfriend's decaying body stuffed inside a chest.

Over the course of five hour-long episodes, Daniel's world starts to fall apart as he searches for the truth of what happened to Alex. With the help of his older friend Scottie (the magnificent Jim Broadbent), Daniel follows clue after clue, overturning every stone while a looming but unknown presence threatens him and those close to him.

But the spy world is just a backdrop for "London Spy." What's most impressive is how the show, created and written by Tom Rob Smith (an out British writer who's penned four thriller novels), treats its gay characters. They are at the forefront of the story and their sexuality isn't highlighted or played on for jokes or to add edginess to the story. This isn't a gay espionage story really. It's an espionage story that happens to have gay characters.

When speaking with the Guardian, Broadbent expressed the same sentiments:

"It's not a gay story... It's about these particular guys, who happen to be gay, who are in the midst of this maelstrom of an unfolding tale," the 66-year-old actor said.

And while it may seem mundane to talk about in 2016, the way Daniel, Alex and Scottie are treated and portrayed in "London Spy" is a huge accomplishment: It simply portrays queer people as part of the population.

Throughout the series, Smith makes connections to being a spy to gay life (for some). During one of the earlier episodes, Scottie, who reveals himself as a retired spy, explains how being an undercover agent is very much like being a closeted gay man. He goes on to say his life would have turned out completely different if he was a straight man. But "London Spy" digs further into issues that plague the gay community, including HIV infection still impacts us today, and how the media can construe a typical gay man's lifestyle into stereotypical preconceived notions on what straight people think it means to be gay.

While a number of prestigious TV shows have gay plots and characters ("Mr. Robot," "True Detective," "UnREAL," "Deutschland 83," "Empire," "Transparent"), none of them are vital to the plot. In "London Spy," however Smith does an incredible job of seamlessly tying these three men's lives and gayness into a larger picture that involves espionage.

The show is also a visual accomplishment, thanks to the skilled work of Jakob Verbruggen, who directed all five episodes. Accompanied by breathtaking cinematography, a heart-pumping soundscape, "London Spy" stays bold and beautiful throughout its five-hour run.

Though "London Spy" can slog along (it does not break out of the traditional slow-burning British dramas), those moments usually crescendo and culminate into huge, gut-wrenching moments that are played out with the doe-eyed Whishaw. Though it's a wonderfully directed show with top-notch writing and brilliant acting, "London Spy" may have worked better if it was a honed in 2-hour film. Or even if the show was fleshed out as a traditional series with more episodes and seasons. (Spoiler: The way "London Spy" ends does suggest that it could return to TV.)

As the story progresses, I found problems with of the major plot points, which I cannot discuss without giving key surprises and twists and turns away, but "London Spy" ends up as a progressive and thoroughly entertaining drama that's never afraid of its gayness.