The Assets

The Assets

2014
The Assets
The Assets

The Assets

7.4 | TV-14 | en | Drama

1985 serves as the backdrop to the final showdown of the Cold War when Sandy and her partner Jeanne Vertefeuille vowed to find the mole that would turn out to be the most notorious traitor in US history, Aldrich Ames. Sandy is in a race against time to save the Soviet intelligence officers from being caught and killed. Living her own double life at home, this beautiful wife and mother vowed to stop at nothing until she uncovered the truth.

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Seasons & Episodes

1
EP8  Avenger
Aug. 03,2014
Avenger

Despite the task force being fully convinced of Ames' guilt, Sandy seeks more definitive proof to convince the Justice Department to proceed with their own investigation. As the hunt closes in on Ames, Sandy's commitment to the job pushes her husband's patience and commitment to the brink. After Ames is finally caught and brought to justice, he mulls over a major decision--to go down defiantly or to confess and protect his wife and child.

EP7  The Straw Poll
Aug. 03,2014
The Straw Poll

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of communism, the CIA task force still remains on the hunt for the cause of the assets' compromise. Sandy becomes convinced that Ames is the most likely suspect but has a difficult time convincing the rest of the task force. After living glamorously in Rome, Ames finds it increasingly difficult to maintain that lifestyle and keep his identity hidden.

EP6  Small Useless Truth
Jul. 27,2014
Small Useless Truth

Having put aside their differences, Sandy and Jeanne move full steam ahead with their mole hunt. The investigation experiences a serious setback, though, when Sandy learns that General Polyakov has been compromised. Through sound recordings, Sandy experiences the brutal interrogation of Polyakov who remains heroic to the end. As Sandy deals with her devastating loss, Ames prepares himself for a high-stakes polygraph test.

EP5  Check Mate
Jul. 27,2014
Check Mate

As Sandy conducts her review of the agency's spycraft, she and Jeanne continue to clash. When a potential asset contacts the CIA claiming to have vital information about a communications breach, Sandy has her doubts about the man known as GTPROLOGUE. Could this be part of a larger campaign by the Soviets to obfuscate the truth? Meanwhile, Ames learns that his request for a transfer to Rome has been approved.

EP4  What's Done is Done
Jun. 28,2014
What's Done is Done

After learning that a breach remains at the CIA, Sandy butts heads with Jeanne Vertefeuille, the senior officer conducting a thorough review of their operations. Jeanne's presence also rattles Ames, who feels increasing pressure from the Soviets to provide more information. On the home front, Ames feels even more pressure, caught between his love for his wife Rosario, and placating her spendthrift lifestyle.

EP3  Trip to Vienna
Jun. 21,2014
Trip to Vienna

After Yurchenko's shocking disclosure, the CIA and FBI mobilize to bring the brilliant Edward Lee Howard to justice. Despite Howard being fingered as the mole, Sandy remains concerned about potential agency leaks and works tirelessly to prove that her asset, General Polyakov, is attempting to establish contact with the CIA. With the rest of the CIA distracted by bigger matters, Ames develops an unlikely bond with Yurchenko during a trip to Canada.

EP2  Jewel in the Crown
Jan. 09,2014
Jewel in the Crown

The CIA scores a major break when Vitaly Yurchenko, a high-ranking KGB officer, defects to the US. Assigned as the lead in the debriefing, Aldrich Ames engages in a verbal cat-and-mouse game to determine whether he is in danger of being ratted out. Ames considers taking drastic measures when Yurchenko reveals that he knows of a mole in the CIA. Meanwhile, Sandy frets over the safety of a beloved and esteemed asset, General Dmitri Polyakov.

EP1  My Name Is Aldrich Ames
Jan. 02,2014
My Name Is Aldrich Ames

As the Cold War enters its final act, the CIA is sent scrambling when a rendezvous with a prized asset goes horribly awry. CIA officer Sandy Grimes begins her investigation into the source of the problem and quickly discovers that this lost asset is just the tip of the iceberg. Little does she know that this is just the beginning of a decade-long mole hunt, and the mole is one of her cohorts - Aldrich Ames.

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7.4 | TV-14 | en | Drama , War & Politics | More Info
Released: 2014-01-02 | Released Producted By: Lincoln Square Productions , Baltic Film Services Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website: http://abc.go.com/shows/the-assets
Synopsis

1985 serves as the backdrop to the final showdown of the Cold War when Sandy and her partner Jeanne Vertefeuille vowed to find the mole that would turn out to be the most notorious traitor in US history, Aldrich Ames. Sandy is in a race against time to save the Soviet intelligence officers from being caught and killed. Living her own double life at home, this beautiful wife and mother vowed to stop at nothing until she uncovered the truth.

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Cast

Jodie Whittaker , Paul Rhys , Harriet Walter

Director

Sandra Grimes

Producted By

Lincoln Square Productions , Baltic Film Services

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Reviews

firenze_italia While I enjoyed seeing this true story dramatized, there was much that detracted from it. Sandra Grimes is portrayed as nearly the only one who 'gets it' (save Jeanne Vertefeuille, who is cast as a definite second banana and is only slightly less clueless than Grimes' colleagues). She's portrayed as 100% infallible. In contrast, her colleagues are absolutely clueless and dismissive of her every instinct and suggestion. (By episode 7, I was laughing out loud at how ridiculous this contrast had become.) There is absolutely no subtlety about it; she's right, and everyone else is wrong! Instead of dialogue and debate, they just blow her off. Around episode 6 or 7, Ames becomes her #1 suspect. Why? We have no idea; he just is. The lame attempts to create some sort of domestic drama and conflict fall especially flat, a not even half-hearted attempt to portray the stress on a couple where one of the spouses can't talk about her job at all. Rosario Ames - whose expensive tastes and free spending were the prime motivation for her husband's treason - is hardly seen until late in the series and she's barely a one-dimensional character. The sappy AF ending - when Grimes and Vertefeuille share a hug after signing their book for the granddaughter of one of Ames' victims - had me rolling my eyes all the way back in my head. To paraphrase how another reviewer put it, this is like Lifetime getting their hands on a Le Carre spy novel.In short the portrayal of Grimes is the sort of hagiography a narcissist would indulge in, and attempt to pass off as the 'true version' of events. "Everybody around me was an idiot, I was the only one who 'got it' and I was never wrong."The series is not without its moments. All of the actors portraying Russians are good to excellent. In particular, episode 6 is by far the most compelling, contrasting the interrogation of a Russian general (Peter Guinness) betrayed by Ames with the high-stakes lie detector test that Ames undergoes. The KGB general interrogating Polyakov is Nicholas Woodeson, a dead ringer for Armin Mueller-Stahl ("Eastern Promises"). In fact, I highly recommend following up viewing this series by reading about the key characters involved. In particular, General Polyakov was one of the most important double agents ever in the history of spying; the list of Soviet secrets he gave up is astounding. For instance, the intelligence he provided on Soviet anti-tank missiles was important to the coalition effort in the 1990 Gulf War. Intelligence provided by Polyakov on the estrangement of China from the USSR played a key role in Nixon's decision to open diplomatic relations with China.This could have (and should have) been made into a feature film; I'm confident that a much better job could have been done in a 2 hour long feature than this series does in 8.
Maria I won't repeat what others already wrote and I won't tell anything about the story as everyone can read all facts on wiki, if interested. This series had me 100%. Well scripted, well played, well filmed. First I was surprised by the "quality" of the pictures but then I realised that even that was meant to portray the 80ies. As I was a teenager in the 80ies I know what the cold war meant. And this story is a well told and real part of it. It may be a bit strange to native speakers that the main parts were played my British actors. For me it was no problem as it is more important to understand every word - and I did. Thanks to the actors for that. Wow! I am really overwhelmed by this mini-series and I am absolutely baffled that it had to be stopped after only 2 episodes on American TV because of a lack of audience. That's a shame. For those who like well told stories and don't need lots of special effects and flying bullets, I can absolutely recommend to watch this 8 episodes. It is worth every minute.
yellowsky12 There were many things I liked about this series..but two of the most notable are..1. the female leads are near appropriate age for the characters..I am SO TIRED of female characters in movies who are hot, great bods, have PHD's in whatever and at the age of 25 save the world! Every TV show - every movie seems to do this and i am so tired of it.2. The motivation for the antagonist was realistic and I enjoyed knowing who it was from the first few minutes of the series with the suspense being how long it would be before he would get caught. o many series and movies these days after 20 car chases and 10 explosions catch the bad guy and their motivation was typical or didn't really logically make senseGood series - glad to have watched - hope there are more
dariakelleher I didn't know about mistakes in the visuals and I understood before I saw it that Aldrich Ames was the spy but I still thought this was well done. Just because you know the ending doesn't mean it can't be suspenseful. Anyway, I thought everybody was good in this show and I looked forward to the next episode. It beats the heck out of the junk on TV about amateur performers, morons getting dates, fat people losing weight and people falling off things. If you want something with a good story you usually end up on HBO or Showtime. I'd like to thank ABC for showing the remaining episodes. I appreciated that. Even if it was a weird time. You have to love timers.