Peter Sutherland Is Netflix's "Night Agent" — Here's How Close to Reality His Character Is

When Netflix launched the series The Night Agent in 2023, it became instantly clear that it would be a hit. Helmed by Gabriel Russo, who plays the titular character Peter Sutherland, the series explores what happens when an FBI agent and former military operative finds himself tangled in a dangerous criminal world and amid colliding government conspiracies.

The series is adapted from a New York Times bestselling book by author Matthew Quirk: 2019's The Night Agent. But is there such a thing as a real "night agent" or is it just fiction? Here's what we know.

While there isn't a "night agent," per se, Matthew did base Peter's character on a real person. He told Us Weekly that he had a friend who was an FBI agent. And, he explained, "Every night, he would disappear at 10 o’clock for some mysterious national security job. I imagined him sitting by a phone that would only ring in a life-or-death emergency, and eventually I spun that into Peter Sutherland’s story in The Night Agent novel.”

Matthew, who worked as a journalist in Washington at the time, later found out what his friend was doing. “It was similar in many ways to Peter’s job starting out, though it was even more fascinating and high-stakes than I had guessed. Another friend’s dad was in that kind of situation — I knew him for years before I found out — and was super helpful in getting me access to the CIA and insights into real-life mole hunts that I used for the book.”

But while a "night agent" may not be 1:1 real, Night Action is a real thing, Matthew explained, calling it a "network of officers [who] work all day and night in the White House Situation Room and other watch desks around D.C., ready to field any crisis."

"As I understand it, Night Action is the code for an event so critical that they have to wake the most powerful men and women in the United States to deal with it immediately," he continued. "I was fascinated by the idea — which really happens — of a young watch officer in the Situation Room having to wake the President and give the leader of the free world his or her first take on a looming crisis.”

Aside from walking the line between fiction and reality, Night Agent has another unusual accomplishment under its belt. In 2026, when Netflix was considering renewing the series for a fourth season, they did something unusual: They gave the show the green light despite the fact that Season 3 saw a dip in viewership.

Collider reports, "The Night Agent has decreased in viewership from Seasons 1 through 3, with the first season picking up 20.6 million viewers and the second earning 13.6 million viewers. Viewership data for The Night Agent Season 3 shows that it picked up only 8.6 million views during the same amount of time, confirming that the series has lost over 11 million views since its original debut back in 2023."

This was a remarkable decision, considering the network's quick call to cancel wildly popular series in the past with booming or growing fan bases. And shows like Netflix original The OA, which only got two seasons.

It begs the question: What does Netflix see in The Night Agent?

The series' value to Netflix likely lies in its format. Shows that involve covert battles between right and wrong seem to be resonating well with audiences. While the fourth season renewal was a gamble for Netflix, it's banking on the fact that people need heroes, morally grey heroes, and antiheroes in a time when government conspiracies seem to be coming true right before our eyes.

Peter Sutherland may just be what people need. At least, that's what Netflix hopes.