Gonna finish off Ghosts of Beirut tonight. Really liking it, and these type is shows in general. Anybody have any suggestions?
Here’s some I’ve seen that I liked.
Berlin Station
Turn
Sleeper Cell
The Americans
HOMELAND
Jack Ryan
Slow Horses
The Diplomat has a decent amount of spy action. You get a glimpse of the diplomatic and political processes that occur alongside intelligence-gathering as well.
Some that I have enjoyed:
- A Spy Among Friends
- Slow Horses
- The Ipcress File (both the recent TV show and the 1965 film are great)
- Traitors (2019)
- The Night Manager
- London Spy
- The Game (2014)
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (both the TV show from 1979 and the 2011 film are great)
- Smiley’s People
Second the rec for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)
Oh I didn’t know there was a series for A Spy Among Friends! I really enjoyed the book so this is definitely going at the top of my to-watch list!
Definitely worthwhile!
I would highly recommend both The Spy and The Night Manager. Both very good series.
In addition to what others have said, I’d also recommend:
The Bodyguard
Reacher (Prime Show)
Person of Interest
The Looming Tower
Counterpart
Chuck
Counterparts was really good. JK simmons killed it
You gotta check out The Third Man. It’s old, buts it’s SO GOOD. Orson Welles is the bad guy.
It’s a movie not a show, but I’ll leave this here anyway.
Ronin is a classic and Argo is another good one to check out.
Burn Notice. Somewhat spy related.
So, no TV shows, so immediate fail, but Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a wonderful film if you haven’t seen it before. Bit of a slow burn though. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. though, much less grounded, but more action packed.
Both are absolutely wonderful! Tinker Tailor is of course classic and a very good adaptation of the book.
Regarding The Man From U.N.C.L.E., I went in blind and really enjoyed it. As you say, it’s more an action movie than a nitty gritty spy film, but it’s a lot of fun!
French show called The Bureau is excellent. It’s more intrigue than action, and that makes it much better.
Two absolute essentials:
Counterpart - You get not one but two JK Simmons, what’s not to love about that?
The Prisoner - the apex of psychedelic sixties British spy goofiness, it’s also a direct ancestor of mystery box shows like Lost
I haven’t seen anyone mention The Recruit yet.
It’s old, pacing isn’t modern, but The Prisoner is still one of the best shows of all time, spy related or otherwise.
Though it got cancelled, I find “Counterpart” to be very good.
Page eight -> Turks & Caicos -> Salting the battlefield
