With heart-pounding intrigue, twisting narratives, and palpable high-stakes all inherent qualities of a great espionage yarn, it is no surprise that spy movies have excelled as evergreen entertainment for decades. This engrossing brilliance has made the transition to television as well, although, bizarrely, many of the best spy television series have struggled to standout on the small screen.
In addition to featuring traditional spy stories likeThe AmericansandHomeland, there have also been television series that have experimented with other genres as well, with the likes ofCounterpartandAndorincorporating sci-fi into the spy narrative. Be they defining gems of modern television, or older series that have stood the test of time,these 10 TV shows are the gold standard of spy drama on the small screen.
10Alias (2001-2006)
Created by J. J. Abrams
Featuring smart writing and frenetic action as its greatest strengths even as the engaging story sprawled into intriguing directions consistently,Aliasis something of a forgotten gem of early 2000s television. It focuses on Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner), a secret agent who learns that the squad she works for—the SD-6—is not who they claim to be. She makes contact with the CIA and begins working as a double agent to help bring down the criminal organization.
The series offerspure escapist thrills from its very first episode, even going so far as to dabble in sci-fi intrigue at stages asSydney tries to balance her triple identity to keep her work hidden from her friendswhile bringing down one of America’s most significant enemies.Aliasran for five seasons before concluding in 2006, and has been compared with the likes ofBuffy the Vampire SlayerandCharmedfor its focus on a strong female character and its delivery of action spectacle.
Watch on Disney+
9'24' (2001-2010)
Created by Joel Surnow & Robert Cochran
Another hit action series of the 2000s,24thrives with its intriguing premise that sees each season transpire in real-time, following a tumultuous day in the life of a counter-terrorist agent, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). With each season containing 24 episodes,every individual episode documented an hour in his missions, with the best seasons seeing Bauer combat attacks on the U.S. President’s life and thwart terrorists from interrupting a treaty between America and Russia.
The series is definitely more at home as an action sensation, more so than an intricate spy thriller, butthe series still finds plenty of room for espionage and conspiracy, as Bauer is often tasked with investigating the attacks he must prevent. With political deceit and manipulation always going hand in hand,24thrives as a heart-pounding action series that incorporates overtones of spy drama to be one of the most exciting series television has ever seen.
Watch on Hulu
8’Homeland' (2011-2020)
Created by Alex Gansa & Howard Gordon
The basic initial premise ofHomelandis one of the most interesting television has ever seen. After being presumed dead for eight years, U.S. Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody (Damien Lewis) is rescued from an al-Qaeda compound and returns to America a hero of war. However, while the nation basks in his triumphant story, erraticCIA analyst Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes)begins to suspect he may have been allowed to return to carry out a terrorist plot.
The series sometimes loses its way throughout its substantial eight-season run, but it always boasts an engrossing yet enigmatic mystery. Carrie and Nicholas themselves define much of it, with the two characters dancing between being allies and enemies within the wider image of the CIA’s efforts to combat terrorism. While sometimes overly dramatic,Homelandis still one of the best series about modern spy craft, and maintains a level of consistent quality which is impressive considering some of the drastic narrative changes it made.
7’Archer' (2009-2023)
Created by Adam Reed
Archermay not be the first television series to parody spy cinema and, more specifically, the James Bond franchise, but it is one of the best and most hilarious. The adult animated sitcom follows the life and missions ofAmerican intelligence agent Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), an anachronistic and snarky narcissist who alternates between fighting the Soviets in the Cold War, pursuing work as a private investigator, drug dealing in Miami, and even searching for the true identity of his father.
As fantastic and complex a character as Archer is, the series relies on the ensemble around him, and they all deliver. While its style of humor may be too crude for some viewers,Archerexcelled for 14 years with its satirical skewering of the most outdated and chauvinistic of spy movie tropes. It just happened to do it so well that it became one of the best spy series of all time in the process.
6’Andor' (2022-)
Created by Tony Gilroy
Among the strongest releases of theStar Warsbrand in any format since Disney took over the franchise,Andoris a glimmering highlight, not only of the space saga, but of all modern television. Effectively a prequel toRogue One: A Star Wars Story, it explores how Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) came to be affiliated with the Rebel Alliance, covering the thief’s early experiences as a Rebel spy and the deadly missions he worked on.
The series managed to appease critics,Star Warsfanatics, and casual viewers alike, exercising a narrative grit anda focused incorporation of spy intrigue to present aStar Warsstory that was tonally expansive and exciting. Seeing genuine espionage intrigue in a galaxy far, far away was not just a unique treat, it felt like the grounded evolution the franchise needed to survive. As such,Andoris one of the sharpest spy series of all time as well as one of thebest sci-fi series to have aired in recent years.
5’Smiley’s People' (1981)
Directed by Simon Langton
While the likes of the James Bond franchise and other Hollywood blockbusters have imbued American spy cinema with an action bombast, British espionage stories are no less compelling. In fact, with their hard-boiled edge and icy brutality, many of the spy movies and TV shows from England surpass their American counterparts because of their more grounded and confronting qualities.Smiley’s Peopleis an example of precisely this.
Based on the works ofJohn le Carré, the series featuresAlec Guinnessas George Smiley, a retired British spy called back into action to investigate the death of one of his former agents and confront his nemesis, the Soviet spymaster, Karla (Patrick Stewart). While small details have aged, it is impressive just how timelessSmiley’s Peoplehas proven to be.Thriving with its layers of deceit and intrigue, and an exceptional yet subtle lead performance from Guinness, the series is among the greatest television programs of the 20th century from any genre.
4’The Night Manager' (2016-)
Directed by Susanne Bier
Another series based on a John la Carré novel, and another series to excel with its immaculate cast,The Night Manageris among the finest television series of the past decade.Tom Hiddlestonstars as Jonathan Pine, a former British soldier who works as the night manager of a luxury hotel in Cairo. When it is believed that ruthless arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie) is using the hotel to conduct business, Pine is recruited by Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) of the Foreign Office to infiltrate Roper’s inner circle.
The series is rich with both elegance and intrigue,combining a dazzling spectacle of lavish settings with a treacherous web of high-stakes crime and espionage. Its twisting story and sublime performances from Hiddleston and Laurie in particular makesThe Night Managera compelling spy drama that unfolds beautifully over the course of its six episodes.A second season is set to be released in 2025.
The Night Manager
Watch on Amazon
3’Counterpart' (2017-2019)
Created by Justin Marks
Another immersive spy series that triumphed as a marriage of espionage and sci-fi,Counterpart’s two seasons focus on tensions between two parallel worlds.J.K. Simmonsis phenomenal in dual roles as Howard Silk, a low-level bureaucrat in the Alpha world and a ruthless master spy in the Prime World. The two Silks are forced to work together as a Cold War between the two realities grinds on, and sleeper agents from the Prime World carry out attacks on the Alpha World.
The series isa masterful blend of intricate storytelling and sci-fi intrigue, marrying familiar tropes from both spy cinema and science-fiction to create something refreshing and immersive. The labyrinthine history between the two worlds is realized in a manner that teeters on the cusp of being overwhelming, but remains cohesive enough to be engrossing.Counterpartis among the most underrated seriesof any genre from the 2010s, if not the history of television entertainment.
Counterpart
Buy on Amazon
2’The Little Drummer Girl' (2018)
Directed by Park Chan-wook
Another title that can be considered among the most underrated series of the 2010s,The Little Drummer Girlflaunts an incredible cast as it adapts John le Carré’s historical novel of the same name.Florence Pughstars as Charlie, an aspiring English actress with extremist left-wing views who is recruited by Mossad agent Gadi Becker (Alexander Skarsgård) and Israeli spymaster Martin Kurtz (Michael Shannon) to infiltrate a Palestinian terrorist group planning attacks on Europe.
WithPark Chan-wookoverseeing all six episodes, the series is able to unfold with tremendous uniformity, with the winding narrative being supported every step of the way bythe astounding production design, the incredible cast, and the methodical slow burn of the plot progression. It makes fora pulsating geopolitical thriller that, while somewhat overlooked upon release, is gradually gaining the attention and praise is so thoroughly deserves.
The Little Drummer Girl
1’The Americans' (2013-2018)
Created by Joe Weisberg
The greatest spy series of all time, and one of the defining titles in what is now being lauded as television’s golden era,The Americansis a grippingstory of Cold War suspense and strained morality. It follows Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Phil Jennings (Matthew Rhys), KGB sleeper agents who, with their two unsuspecting children, pose as an ordinary American family as they carry out their assignments. All the while, they try not to stoke the suspicion of their next-door neighbor, FBI counterintelligence agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), while using him as a source of information.
Through Elizabeth’s and Phil’s missions, and their conflicting attitudes towards their cause and the comfort they experience in America,the series conjures up fascinating moral questions about the characters, their methodologies, and their larger purpose in the Soviet Union.The Americanshas come to be viewed not only as the pinnacle of spy television, but as one of the greatest TV shows in the history of the medium.
