Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Richard Madden trade secrets in a political thriller with a top-secret program at its center. Here's what the new trailer shows.
Nothing sets December’s mood like a Secretary of Defense with a secret, and Trinity on Netflix has a whole program’s worth. The thriller now has a date, Dec. 1, and a new trailer that shows two people getting in well over their heads.
A bond that shouldn’t work
The trailer gives a first proper look at Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Lift, Surface) and Richard Madden (Eternals, Citadel) in the thick of political intrigue. She plays Commander Katherine Decker. He plays Secretary of Defense Webb Preston. Their unlikely bond is the engine of the story, and it pulls Decker toward something dangerous: a top-secret program called Trinity.
The setup is a neat moral squeeze. Decker ends up caught between backing Webb’s strategy to prevent World War III and exposing his secrets. Both options carry a cost, and the trailer is cut to make you feel it. Loyalty and conscience are on a collision course, and the two leads are holding the wheel.
It helps that the pairing runs on contrast: a commander and a cabinet-level power player, with a secret between them. In a story about secrets, restraint is an asset, and the trailer lets the silences do some of the work.
The company they keep
The seven-episode series has a deep bench. Marcia Gay Harden, JD Pardo, Bruce Greenwood, Robert Wisdom, Kirk Acevedo, Ben Cotton, James Remar, Jason Ralph and Mark O’Brien all appear. That’s a lot of seasoned faces for a story where everyone seems to know a little more than they say.
Behind the camera, Jed Mercurio is showrunner, writer and executive producer. The executive producers also include Jimmy Mulville for Hat Trick Mercurio, plus Mendy Mericle. Michael Cuesta directed and executive produced the first two episodes, so he sets the tone the rest of the series follows.
Why December works
December is usually the month of sparkle and sentiment. The calendar fills with holiday specials. Disney+, for one, has the stop-motion A Proud Family Wizmas arriving Nov. 14, with six original songs. A taut political thriller stands out against all that tinsel.
The date itself is smart too. Dec. 1 is the first day of the month, which gives Trinity the full run of the holiday stretch. People tend to have more downtime at the end of the year, and seven episodes is a size you can plan around. It’s long enough to build a conspiracy and short enough to finish before the new year.
The company on the calendar is lively, too. Paramount+ has Who the Hell Is Hamish? set for Dec. 10, an Australian drama inspired by the true story of a fraudster and the victims who took him down. Dominic Cooper plays Hamish McLaren, who returns to Australia from Canada and meets Bec (Claire van der Boom), a recent divorcee and single mother with a significant family trust. As she gets closer to him, she starts to find discrepancies in his story. Adam Zwar created and wrote it.
So December has people who aren’t who they say they are on one streamer and a minister with a classified file on another. Trinity opens the month, more than a week ahead of Hamish.
Streaming’s other big mood this season is glamour. Hulu is marking All’s Fair Season 2, which premiered Nov. 4, with flatbed trucks loaded with luxury cars, designer luggage, art and furniture. They’re cruising Hollywood Boulevard, the Sunset Strip, Times Square and South Beach, and fans can claim their own “divorce settlements” at pop-ups on Nov. 7. If November is for champagne and designer bags, December gets to be for tailored coats, closed doors and a very good poker face.
And there’s something fitting about a story of guarded rooms and quiet power plays arriving when everyone is staying in. It suits a dark evening, a good sofa and a phone switched to silent. Pour something, sit tight, and let Decker and Preston make everything a bit more complicated.
Trinity debuts Dec. 1 on Netflix.
Via Variety
