J.K. Simmons performs double duty playing two versions of the same character in Counterpart. Here’s what you need to know to watch the premiere online.
While there is much ado about HBO, Netflix and Hulu for online streaming content, Starz has often found diamonds in the rough with some of their content. They’re putting most of their chips forward by pushing the psychological thriller Counterpart, starring J.K. Simmons as a bureaucrat in a Berlin-based United Nations operation who uncovers a dark truth.
During the Cold War, an experiment went horribly wrong, opening up a portal to a duplicate world layered overtop the world of Counterpart. Not only does everything run as if it was their own planet Earth, it is filled with nefarious characters, including an assassin named Baldwin who’s after Emily Silk, the wife of protagonist Howard Silk. Howard must work with “Prime” (his identical counterpart from that world) in order to stop the assassin and learn more about the nature of these two existences.
Here is the official synopsis for the Counterpart series premiere, “The Crossing”:
"Howard Silk, a lowly cog in the bureaucratic machinery of a Berlin-based UN spy agency. When Howard discovers that his organization safeguards the secret of a crossing into a parallel dimension, he is thrust into a shadow world of intrigue, danger, and double cross. The only man he can trust is “Prime,” Howard’s near-identical counterpart from this parallel world."
The cast of Counterpart includes Olivia Williams, Harry Lloyd, Ulrich Thomsen, Nazanin Boniadi, Nicholas Pinnock and others. What’s enthralling about this series is to see J.K. Simmons play two very different roles for the same namesake, requiring a deft touch in order to differentiate the two versions of Howard.
For those too impatient to wait for the Counterpart series premiere on Sunday, you can sign up for Starz right now and get access to the first episode immediately. Each episode will follow weekly on Sunday nights for its first season, and here’s how you can watch the Counterpart series premiere online:
Date: Sunday, Jan. 21
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Episode: 1×01 – “The Crossing”
Channel: Starz
Live Stream: Stream 1 | Stream 2 | Stream 3
A great cast, an interesting plot and a thought-provoking use of science fiction played as a dramatic thriller. We can’t wait to see how this season unfolds!