| Image Alt: | Five people stand on a sound stage. |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Developer: | John Morton |
| Creative Director: | Candida Otton |
| Composer: | Rael Jones |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 8 |
| Producer: | Sarah Curtis |
| Cinematography: | Simon Tindall |
| Editor: | Robin Hill |
| Network: | Amazon Prime Video |
Ten Percent is a British comedy television series based on the French series Call My Agent! (titled Dix pour cent in French, which translates as 'ten per cent'); both are set in talent agencies that see turbulence when their founder unexpectedly dies. The London talent agency, Nightingale Hart, has agents Jonathan Nightingale (Jack Davenport), Rebecca Fox (Lydia Leonard), Stella Hart (Maggie Steed), and Dan Bala (Prasanna Puwanarajah), interact with celebrity clients, featuring many real actors portraying versions of themselves. It was originally released in select markets on Amazon Prime Video on 28 April 2022, also being shown in the United States on BBC America.
It was cancelled after one series.[1]
Misha has decided to follow her absent father, Jonathan, and grandfather, Richard, in their talent agent career, arriving at London agency Nightingale Hart just in time to be spontaneously hired as an assistant when one is fired. Shortly after Misha joins, Richard dies, and Jonathan and another agent, Stella, discover the agency is struggling financially. Jonathan also struggles to keep his family from realising who Misha really is. Meanwhile, agent Rebecca is launching a production branch of the agency and falling for Margaux, the author of the book she's set to adapt, and agent Dan tries to launch the career of their receptionist-turned-actress, Zoe – also while falling for her. Stella sorts through a different personal dilemma and supports old friend and self-sabotaging actor Simon. Misha starts to help Jonathan's son Luke become a screenwriter. They all try to handle their temperamental celebrity clients while holding off the imposition of the American company who bought the agency.
Jim Broadbent played Richard Nightingale, the agency's founder (based on Samuel), who in the series is also the father of Jonathan. Smurf the dog portrays Stella's loyal dog, named Mathias (based on Arlette's dog, Jean Gabin). The characters Simon Gould, played by McInnerny, Kirsten Furst, played by Crisp, and Kevin, played by Holden, are original creations for the British series.[2]
John Morton adapted the French series Call My Agent! (Dix pour cent) for British television, after the success of his original British workplace satires Twenty Twelve and W1A, the latter of which centred on the running of the BBC and had celebrity cameos.[3] [4] Morton felt there were two directions the adaptation could have gone, portraying the agent-client relationships either cynically or affectionately; he decided he wanted to take the latter route, which also aligned best with the tone of the original series.[5]
The series was released in select regions on Amazon Prime Video on 28 April 2022,[3] on SundanceNow and AMC+ in the United States on 29 April 2022,[6] [7] and began airing with weekly episodes on BBC America from 1 May 2022.[5]
The series was received mildly, with critics saying that, based on the first two episodes,[8] it is generally pleasant but is almost a direct copy of the original French series.[5] [3] [9]
Rachel Cooke of the New Statesman thought the celebrity cameos were unimpressive, using "cut-price" actors compared to the original, which lessened the impact of the setting, but said she would personally continue watching.[10] Camilla Long for The Times was instead pleased with the cameos, but found its release on subscription streaming platform Amazon off-putting and the series lacking in entertainment value.[11]
Variety Scott Bryan, and Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian found it enjoyable but too faithful to the original French series to be necessary: Bryan did think the dialogue was particularly good,[9] and Nicholson said that "it also shares some of the original's jaunty spirit and bounce", though felt it was not as funny as it should have been. She suggested that viewers who have not seen the original would enjoy it more, as the direct similarities made it more of a re-watch.[3] Conversely, Sophie Gilbert for The Atlantic found it charming and, though much alike the original, to have a distinctly British sensibility that gave it enough difference to enjoy as a product of its own, adding that its most resonant elements are those Morton created for the series, like Simon and the Americans, with no basis in the French show.[5] NME's Andrew Trendell agreed, saying it kept the tone of Call My Agent! and added "a little more heart and piercing British humour".[12]
Roslyn Sulcas of The New York Times noted that the first episode followed the French series beat-for-beat but, after the set-up, "the show's plotlines gradually begin to differ, and to cater more closely to the specific preoccupations of the British cultural industry".[13]