The spy comedy series “Ponies,” as created by Susanna Fogel (the writer of “Booksmart” and writer/director of “The Spy Who Dumped Me”) and David Iserson, sure came and went pretty quickly, didn’t it? “Ponies” debuted on Peacock on January 15, 2026, and only lasted for a brief eight-episode season before galloping off into the sunset.
A Cold War series set in 1977, “Ponies” stars Haley Lu Richardson and Emilia Clarke. Their characters, named Twila and Bea, work as secretaries for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and are, in spy parlance, PONIs or persons of no interest. At the start of the show, Twila’s and Bea’s husbands are both killed under mysterious circumstances, forcing them to become actual operatives for the CIA in order to investigate the mystery. The comedy of the series stems from Twila’s and Bea’s almost complete lack of experience when it comes to spy work.
According to Deadline, “Ponies” was canceled for the expected reason: low ratings. Not enough people were watching the show to justify its expense, so Peacock nixed it. As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, the actual viewership numbers for “Ponies” were not released, but it did not appear among the top-10 Nielsen-rated streaming shows over the course of its run. In other words, it was, at best, the 11th-highest-rated show on streaming.
“Ponies” was well received by critics and fans, however, and garnered a 94% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Most reviewers agreed that its two lead characters were charismatic and appealing, and it made /Film’s rundown of the best crime TV shows of 2026 to boot. But, as we all know, being highly acclaimed is no guarantee of success. In this case, friendship just wasn’t magic.
The reviews for Ponies were actually quite good
Reviewing “Ponies” for The Guardian, Lucy Mangan wrote, “I don’t know what it is, but I like it.” She called the series “weirdly joyful and bizarrely endearing,” writing:
“(‘Ponies’) has none of the reveling in depictions of tradecraft that stories in (John le Carré’s) tradition usually prize. The setup is almost embarrassingly absurd and dealt with as swiftly as possible – nothing to see here, just accept it and move on to the good stuff!”
Most reviews very much value the relationship between Haley Lu Richardson and Emilia Clarke’s characters as well. Reviewing the show for Variety, Alison Herman wrote that the chemistry between its leads is what drives the entire series. “Any actual intelligence work done in ‘Ponies’ is in service to these women and their burgeoning friendship,” she noted, adding:
“We’re here to have fun and watch our heroines come into their own, not show off Le Carré-level expertise in tradecraft. Moral ambiguity is introduced later on, but this also isn’t ‘The Americans,’ with its rigorous interrogation of ideology and what motivates both sides of the communist-capitalist tug of war.”
“Ponies” is light, fun, and whimsical, just the sort of middle-stakes drama that makes for a relaxing watch on a weekday evening. Perhaps it was the show’s 1977 setting and connection to history that kept people away. Then again, given the staggering amount of money Peacock has lost due to its low subscription rates (among other things), it’s likely a lot of folks simply didn’t have access to (or perhaps even know about) “Ponies” to begin with. Alas, Twila and Bea deserved better.