The Sympathizer, a seven-episode adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, is bringing the Vietnam War to life like never before.

Now available on Sky Atlantic, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller with a satirical edge, following the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy known only as The Captain during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.

The series has an all-star cast including Oscar-winning actor Robert Downey Jr as “four distinct patriarchal figures in our hero's path”, Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, Alan Trong, and Emmy® winner Sandra Oh.

Speaking ahead of the The Sympathizer’s release, co-showrunners Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar said: “We wanted to illustrate how the divisions of the American establishment are intertwined and in collusion, but the concept also has a psychological resonance, as you will see when you reach the finale.”

The Sympathizer has since received a string of five-star and four-star reviews, proving the tale is one you can’t look away from.

Here’s just some of the things critics have had to say.

Read more about The Sympathizer here.

“By turns horrific and hilarious, and with an engagingly subversive undertow [...] there’s a hidden depth to The Sympathizer that belies its occasionally larky mask. But its central theme, the question of identity and where we truly belong, is as much about the here and now as it is about Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s.” ★★★★★

“The Sympathizer is no easy watch. To be fully absorbed into the series requires work from the viewer. It's a show that demands your attention in a 'no phones, no absent-mindedly doom-scrolling' kind of way and respect that, because what you get in return is a rich and powerful watch.” ★★★★★

“The show revels in the intricacies of espionage: there are elaborate coded communications, cover-threatening ethical dilemmas and counter-counter-intelligence missions. But it also uses spycraft as an analogue for the broader immigrant experience of being caught between one’s origins and one’s adopted environment, between a “true” identity and an assumed one.” ★★★★

“From the moment you switch on the first episode, you know you're in safe hands - it may take you to unexpected places, but you know that, at the very least, it will be assured, innovative and compelling. Thankfully, The Sympathizer reaches far beyond that.” ★★★★

“The Sympathizer is a big, fiercely intelligent, often very funny, sometimes difficult drama. Based on Việt Thanh Nguyễn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, it’s a story of many themes, wrestled into mostly digestible shape by showrunners Don McKellar and Park Chan-wook” ★★★★

“The Sympathizer is exciting, meaty and a reminder that drama that demands your full and complete attention can be well worth the effort.” ★★★★

“It would be easy to write off The Sympathizer as being more style than substance. But make no mistake, this is a series that is really about something, that tackles expansive subject matter with clarity and verve. At a time when market oversaturation has turned starry TV miniseries into grey and missable propositions, The Sympathizer justifies its existence emphatically.” ★★★★

“It is a demanding watch, but its storytelling and visual audacity are a searing endorsement of just how thrilling television can be when risks are taken and the audience is trusted to keep up.” ★★★★