Crime and spy thrillers are always popular, with a surge in the trend in the last few years, and the Netflix dramaThe Night Agent is an example of that genre. The series is an adaptation of the books of the same name by Matthew Quirk, and is currently in its second season.
Similar shows have stories that focus on conspiracy theories, clandestine operations, national secrets, and spies. Although the adventure and action drive the plot, the characters and their plans and machinations hook the viewer.
The Agencygets a lot of attention because of the notable cast, which includes big names like Ricard Gere and Michael Fassbender, but it also includesa lot of character-driven storiesand psychological horror. The covert organization at the center of the plot is the CIA, and the setting is either their headquarters in London or their base of operations at Langley.
Fassbender plays Brandon Colby, a CIA agent formerly under deep cover who is compelled to return to civilian life, and part of the drama revolves around whether he’s been emotionally capable of being his authentic self. He reconnects with his daughter and a former love interest, but his own past, which includes a healthy amount of post-traumatic stress, is always coming back to haunt him.
Keifer Sutherland’s character, John Weir, is an anti-hero, a corporate spy who steals and sells the darkest, deepest secrets of the corporate world to the highest bidder. This can refer to R&D formulas, employee information, stock reports, and even state-related information that can be used for bribery and extortion.
Weir’s career is about to come to a close when a mysterious group that shares the same common interests when it comes to private information frames him for murder. The protagonist now has to clear his name while trying to dodge not only the employees of the cabal, but also various law-enforcement agencies who are already in hot pursuit.
There are so many versions of the Jack Ryan books that include both TV shows and movies, never mind the spinoffs, that the franchise is referred to as “the Ryanverse.” The show begins in the first season by telling the story of Ryan’s transition from a desk job to fieldwork. The next three seasons take place in multiple locationsas his career unfolds.
In the fourth and last season, Ryan takes on the role of acting CIA director, and he’s faced with the task of rooting out corruption in his own organization. Drug cartels and terrorists have infiltrated the CIA and the US government at the highest levels, and there are few honest agents left who can stop them.
There are several interesting theories about secret American intelligence gathering bases throughout the globe, andPine Gapis the story of one in the wilderness of Australia. This is actually a real place, located in almost the exact center of the continent, and the series is a dramatized retelling of historical events.
Deep Stateis a British series about the inner workings of one of history’s most famous and notorious Secret Service agencies, MI6. Made famous in pop culture because of its connections to James Bond, this show is about former agent Max Easton who returns to MI6 after the promise of it being his very last job. But as the story unfolds, it may be the last thing he ever does.
Richard Armitage, the actor behind Thorin Oakenshield and the voice behind Trevor Belmont ofCastlevania, stars as spy Daniel Miller in this series about a CIA agent who is sent to Berlin on a case. Miller is a former analyst who works behind a desk more than in the field, so the first season is as much about his training as his mission.
He’s been sent to uncover the source of a leak that set off a whistleblower who now enjoys worldwide fame thanks to their heroic actions. As Miller gets closer to the leak, his skills are tested. After he survives some of the darkest and most dangerous partsof the espionage game, he’s given an even more important assignment, this time undercover within the German government.
