Echo 3 is a fast-paced action thriller series with a talented cast, released on Apple TV Plus on November 23, 2022 – but is it worth watching? Set in Colombia, Echo 3 chronicles a black ops mission to rescue a research scientist who has been kidnapped by militants. Echo 3 is based on Omri Givon’s award-winning Israeli series When Heroes Fly, itself adapted from the novel of the same name by Amir Gutfreund. Jessica Ann Collins stars as the abducted scientist alongside Michiel Huisman as her husband and Luke Evans as her brother, who both lead the rescue team.
Among its appealing attributes, Echo 3 was created by Oscar-winning screenwriter Mark Boal, who also directed three episodes including the finale. After starting his career as a journalist, Boal broke into Hollywood with his collaborations with director Kathryn Bigelow. He won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for his work on The Hurt Locker and earned further praise for his work on Zero Dark Thirty, a dramatization of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Echo 3 marks Boal’s latest foray into the military thriller genre, but is the series worth a watch, or should it be skipped?
Echo 3 Is Worth Watching
While Echo 3 falls short of its ambitions to transcend its genre with gripping geopolitical drama, as a standard action-adventure series, it succeeds admirably and is certainly worth watching. The show doesn't reach the dramatic heights of Boal’s captivating scripts for The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, but it’s just as action-packed and evenly paced as those acclaimed thrillers. The cast of Echo 3 can be relied on for strong performances, and the series has personal stakes that make the story engaging: the soldiers are reeling from the death of their team leader on their last mission, and the abducted scientist’s brother and husband are both on the team.
While it succeeds well enough as an action series, Echo 3 might not be to everyone’s tastes. If 10 hours of military action sounds like an exciting prospect, then Echo 3 is definitely worth a watch. However, anyone who isn’t a fan of this branch of the action genre should probably give Echo 3 a skip. Since there isn’t much depth or complexity in its characters and plotting, the action scenes are the show’s saving grace. Viewers who aren’t impressed by explosive, high-octane action likely won’t find much to enjoy in Echo 3.
Echo 3 Is Not Yet Renewed For Season 2
As it stands, Echo 3 has not been renewed for a second season. But Apple hasn’t officially canceled the series either, leaving the door open for season 2. In an interview with Variety, Echo 3 creator Mark Boal said the show was “envisioned as a multi-season thing.” While Echo 3 hasn’t been renewed for season 2 yet, Boal added, “I feel pretty good about how the show’s performing,” indicating that he’s confident that announcement of its continuation could be imminent. The ending of Echo 3 season 1 saw the show’s three leads contending with the entire Colombian army, so season 2 is set up for another riveting international conflict.