'Citadel' to 'The Night Manager': Spy thriller shows to watch
What makes for a good spy thriller? The ingredients include a charismatic spy agent with brilliant wit, thrilling mission, and intricate plots. Add to it pulse-pounding action and some clever psyche game. Below are five shows that offer a thrilling journey into the shadowy world of spies, where loyalties are tested, secrets are unveiled, and suspense is the order of the day.
'Citadel' (2023- )
Starring Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden, the Russo Brothers's spy action thriller series Citadel delves into the high-stakes world of espionage and clandestine operations. Amid the fall of a global spy agency, Citadel, and the rise of a powerful syndicate Manticore, the series reveals if two Citadel spy agents, whose memories have been wiped, can remember their past, gather strength, and fight back.
'Killing Eve' (2018-2022)
BBC's Killing Eve is a gripping spy thriller series that follows the brilliant but psychopathic assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) being hunted by the determined MI6 agent Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and how their lives get intertwined. Based on Luke Jennings's novel series Villanelle, Phoebe Waller-Bridge serves as the head writer for Season 1. Oh won a Golden Globe while Comer a Primetime Emmy Award.
'Counterpart' (2017-2019)
Counterpart offers a unique twist on the genre by introducing a parallel universe and a secret government agency responsible for keeping the balance between the two worlds. The Emmy-winning sci-fi spy thriller series focuses on Howard Silk (JK Simmons), a regular employee in the bureaucratic division of a Berlin-based UN spy agency, who learns that his office is crossing into parallel dimensions.
'The Night Manager' (2016)
Directed by Susanne Bier, The Night Manager stars Tom Hiddleston as a former British soldier turned hotel manager, Jonathan Pine, and Hugh Laurie as an international arms dealer, Richard Roper. The Emmy-winning series follows Pine as he is hired by a Foreign Office manager (Olivia Colman) to infiltrate the team of Roper as a part of her investigation against the illegal arms deal.
'The Americans' (2013-2018)
One of the best in the genre, Joe Weisberg's The Americans has won several accolades including four Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe Award. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, the series follows Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys), two Russian spy agents who disguise themselves as a regular American couple soon after Ronald Reagan is elected President.
