Rubicon is the new spy thriller on AMC. Everyone has been comparing it to spy movies from the 70s such as Three Days of the Condor and The Conversation. The action is slow paced (even though we do get a gun shot suicide and a train crash in the pilot) and deliberate with a few different story lines being setup for use throughout the season. But is it worth watching?

Will Travers (James Badge Dale) is a spy. But not the James Bond kind who goes out shooting bad guys and getting the women. Will is the back office spy who puts together all the information and tells James Bond who the bad guys are. Will’s wife and child were killed in 9/11 and he’s a bit of a loner. He even ignores the obvious flirtation of the secretary Maggie.

When Will finds some strange clues in a bunch of crossword puzzles he takes it to his boss (and father-in-law) David who tells him it’s probably nothing. David then takes it to his boss Kale Ingram (without crediting Will). David is then on a train that crashes the next morning. Will goes to agency legend Ed Bancroft (Roger Robinson), who broke every code until the codes broke him we’re told, but Ed pushes him away (even though his body language suggests he wants to tackle one more code). Will starts wondering if his clues caused the David’s death. And then he starts wondering if David actually died.

There is also a secret meeting we don’t get to see too much about and Miranda Richardson’s character has her husband commit suicide before the opening credits. Those two things are linked in some way to each other and to Will’s clues. As we dig deeper into the mystery, we have to look at Will and determine whether he’s found a real conspiracy or whether he heading down Ed’s path.

 James Badge Dale as Will shoulders most of the burden on the show. With little on screen action, his performance will be the key to making the show successful or not. One detail that does worry me is the show runner from the pilot left after the pilot and a new show runner was added. This could change the entire complexion of the series and makes me a little nervous. And, as always with show that have ongoing plots, the pacing and plotting of the series can make or break it. Some shows with ongoing story lines were never able to get the plotting right (I’m looking at you Flash Forward) and sunk under the weight of their own bad plots.

If you like spy, thrillers that move a glacial pace, then this is the show for you. If you want a show that goes a little bit more by the numbers and at a faster pace, then change the channel and find another show.