Posted in: Peacock, TV | Tagged: Ponies

Ponies: Emilia Clarke '80s Spy Drama Gets Peacock First-Look Preview

Peacock released first-look photos from Ponies, the upcoming 1980s spy thriller starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson.

Published Thu, 20 Nov 2025 08:07:03 -0600

by Adi Tantimedh

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Peacock released first-look photos of Ponies, the 1980s spy thriller starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson as two women in Russia who get recruited by the CIA to find the truth behind their husbands' deaths. The Cold War and spy thrillers are a big genre now, reflecting the real-life international tensions in the hellish landscape we're currently living through. Setting a story in the 1980s seems to be driven not only by vaguely political and propaganda purposes, but we get the feeling screenwriters and filmmakers just want to indulge in the nostalgic wallowing in the music, fashion, and big hairstyles of the day. And actors love playing dress-up. Everybody wins!

Ponies: Peacock Previews Emilia Clarke's 1980s Spy Drama — David Lukacs/PEACOCK

Moscow, 1977. Two "PONIES" ("persons of no interest" in intelligence speak) work anonymously as secretaries in the American Embassy. That is, until their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in the USSR, and the pair become CIA operatives. Bea (Clarke) is an over-educated, Russian-speaking child of Soviet immigrants. Her cohort, Twila (Richardson), is a small-town girl who is as abrasive as she is fearless. Together, they work to uncover a vast Cold War conspiracy and solve the mystery that made them widows in the first place.

Ponies will have six episodes and is from co-creator and showrunner David Iverson (Mr. Robot, New Girl), as well as co-creator, co-writer, and director Susanna Fogel (The Flight Attendant, The Spy Who Dumped Me), who will also serve as executive producers. Mike Daniels (Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, The Village) will also be Executive Producer and showrunner. Jessica Rhoades (Black Mirror, Station Eleven, Dirty John) is also the showrunner and executive producer. Katherine Bridle, Alison Mo Massey, Jared Ian Goldman, and Rosa Handelman are co-executive producers.

Star Emilia Clarke also has an Executive Producer credit. The series Regulars areHaley Lu Richardson (The White Lotus), Adrian Lester (Sandman, Day After Tomorrow), Artjom Gilz (Tar, Das Boot), Nicholas Podany (Saturday Night, Hello Tomorrow), Petro Ninovskyi (Shttl, Silence), and Vic Michaelis (Very Important People, Upload)