8 Best Spy TV Series to Binge While Waiting for 'Slow Horses' Season 6
It's an abyss of undercover operations, bureaucratic games, and high stakes where one wrong step could be your last.
With Jackson Lamb's team preparing for a new case, now is the perfect time for a spy marathon.
The world of on-screen intelligence has long ceased to be black and white – it has been replaced by gray moral choices, absurd bureaucratic grotesqueries, and exhausted heroes without superpowers.
1. 'The Bureau', 2015-2020
IMDb Score: 8.7/10
The plot centers on a French intelligence agent who returns home after successfully completing a six-year undercover mission in Syria.
However, his long-awaited return presents him with a new challenge. He is unable to complete the procedure to regain his true identity and is forced to remain in his assigned role.
The Bureau is a cleverly crafted, action-packed, and one of the most realistic projects about the secret services.
2. 'Deep State', 2018-2019
IMDb Score: 7.1/10
Former intelligence officer Max Easton finds himself caught in the middle of a special operation in the Middle East. His son, who is also an agent, is killed. Determined to avenge his son's death, Max returns to MI6.
The deeper he delves into the investigation, the more terrible secrets about the government's inner workings he uncovers.
In Deep State, dangerous work goes hand in hand with personal relationships. The creators wanted to show the double game agents must play, hiding their motives from even their loved ones.
3. 'The Americans', 2013-2018
IMDb Score: 8.4/10
The highly successful FX spy series is based on the true story of Soviet spies living undercover in the US during the Cold War.
Philip and Elizabeth appear to be an average American family. They raise two children, and are close friends with their neighbors. In reality, however, they are KGB agents who gather secret information for the Kremlin and perform other tasks assigned to them.
Gradually, however, the characters' initially artificial marriage becomes more genuine, and their unsuspecting children begin to realize that their parents are not who they claim to be.
4. 'The Day of the Jackal', 2024-...
IMDb Score: 8.1/10
Starring Eddie Redmayne, the series is another adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's 1971 novel The Day of the Jackal. The story follows a contract killer nicknamed the Jackal who carries out the most dangerous assassination missions.
Time and again, he evades the authorities by altering his appearance beyond recognition. However, British intelligence agent Bianca is on the Jackal's trail. She's a fearless intelligence officer, and just like the Jackal she's cunning and dexterous.
It's clear that there's no room for both of them in this world, and only one will survive.
5. 'Killing Eve', 2018-2022
IMDb Score: 8.1/10
This is a gripping, hilarious, and completely unpredictable series about the confrontation between the ruthless assassin Villanelle and the MI5 agent Eve.
Neither can live peacefully while the other is alive. At the same time, however, they are drawn to each other by an invisible magnet.
Killing Eve offers a fresh and original take on the rivalry between agents and criminals, skillfully breathing new life into the genre.
6. 'London Spy', 2015
IMDb Score: 7.4/10
Danny is stuck in a rut, shuffling between a dull warehouse job and drug-fueled parties. He finds salvation in his relationship with Alex, a brilliant yet fragile intelligence officer.
Their happiness is shattered overnight when Alex dies. Confronted with the lie that it was an accident, Danny sees the truth: it was an assassination.
Driven by grief and a thirst for revenge, Danny plunges into the dangerous world of espionage to find the killer and expose the conspiracy.
7. 'Condor', 2018-2020
IMDb Score: 7.7/10
This is a serial adaptation of Sydney Pollack's cult spy drama Three Days of the Condor, which is based on James Grady's spy thriller Six Days of the Condor.
The story begins with the faceless daily routine of a CIA department that collects leaked information. Outwardly, this department resembles an ordinary firm, and its employees are far from superspies.
After a lunch break one day, the main character, Joe, returns to the office to find all his colleagues murdered. Unable to count on help from others, he must do two things: save his own life and identify his colleagues' killers.
8. 'The Night Manager', 2016-...
IMDb Score: 8.0/10
Jonathan Pine is a former soldier who works as a night manager at a luxury hotel. After a guest gives him incriminating information about a major arms deal, he uses his old connections to pass it on to the government.
Recognizing Pine's potential, an intelligence agent recruits him. Under her direction, Pine infiltrates the inner circle of an arms dealer in order to access an international criminal network.
