In a quest for Showtime’s next big hit before the network changes owners, Levittown’s Chris McCarthy is banking on Richard Gere’s star power and fame, writes John Jurgensen for The Wall Street Journal.

The co-chief executive of Paramount Global was determined to get the popular actor to play the flinty CIA station chief in the major espionage series The Agency, even after Gere had refused the supporting role twice.

McCarthy kept sending the show’s producers to the actor with scripts because he was convinced that his image popping up on the landing page of the Paramount+ streaming service would get viewers to click on the icon for the new thriller.

“Richard’s so mass,” he said. “You can put him on a poster with the title and people are going to get it.”

The push to get the actor onboard was part of McCarthy’s risky and pricy strategy – an episode of The Agency costs $12 million – aimed at bringing luster back to Showtime and prove himself more valuable before David Ellison’s Skydance Media officially becomes the owner of Paramount Global next year.

Read more about Chris McCarthy’s hope that Richard Gere’s star power and fame drives interest in Paramount’s new The Agency series in The Wall Street Journal.

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The Agency Trailer