Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is available to stream on BritBox in the UK Slow Horses (Apple TV+, 2022 – Present)
#Best spy movies and series series
There was also a sequel series called Smiley’s People which came out in 1982. You might have seen the excellent 2011 film starring Gary Oldman, but for a slightly longer, slower paced adaptation conveniently portioned into seven episodes, this acclaimed earlier series starring Alec Guinness, in which the Cold War is a contemporary story rather than a period drama, is well worth a look.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was perhaps le Carré’s most personal novel, revolving around the hunt for a double agent in his fictionalised version of MI6. Only Ian Fleming has had a bigger impact, and arguably le Carré is even more influential on the more “realistic” end of spy fiction. David Cromwell first started writing spy novels under a pseudonym while he was still working for MI6, before he was outed by the infamous double agent Kim Philby in 1964. It’s hard to underestimate the influence the novels of John le Carré have had on spy fiction, both in print and on screen. That was back in 2002 it does not seem quite so shocking now (in fact, Supernatural used the same cause of death in a 2010 episode) but the show is still an unpredictable, fun ride. Spooks made waves in its second episode with a gruesome death scene that shocked its genteel British audience and prompted hundreds of complaints. It became notorious for shocking twists, for unexpectedly killing off main characters, and for a 2015 film sequel starring Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington and subtitled The Greater Good (a title it is quite impossible for any fan of 2007’s Hot Fuzz to take seriously). Spooks ran for nearly a decade and was an early career highlight for several well-known British actors including Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, and Richard Armitage. Watch if you enjoy: UK politics, gripping action Jumping around international destinations and timelines, A Spy Among Friends isn’t made for casual viewing, so put your phone away while you fall under its spell.Ī Spy Among Friends is available to stream on ITVX. Damian Lewis is the keystone holding it all together with a magnificent performance as Elliott, with able support from Guy Pearce as Philby, and Anna Maxwell Martin as Thomas. These six episodes build a layered, complex portrait of the kind of men Elliott and Philby were, and of the class that made them. It dips back and forth in history between the 1930s and 1960s, after Philby’s defection to the then-Soviet Union, to tell the story of how he charmed and deceived his friends and colleagues, and examines what that betrayal meant not just to England, but also to Elliott, his former best friend.
This excellent slow-burn ITVX drama adapted by Homeland‘s Alex Cary from a book by Ben Macintyre, hangs on a central triangle of characters: real-life British intelligence agents Nicholas Elliott, infamous traitor Kim Philby, and fictional MI5 debriefer Lily Thomas. The selection below will occupy your evenings for a week or two, keeping you clicking “Watch next episode” before your brain has even woken up to tell you it’s midnight and you really ought to be in bed. And they are all compelling, unmissable TV.
They all have a tendency towards ruthlessness – don’t get too attached to any one person! The possibility that any character in the show might be killed off at any moment, up to and including the protagonist, is one of the things that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. They all feature twists and turns and characters keeping deep, dark secrets. But there are a few things that they all have in common. You’ll find action, family drama, comedy, politics and even the odd alien invasion all represented in this list.
Are you craving some spy action? If you’ve exhausted the Bond franchise, completed the Mission: Impossible collection, and revisited the Bourne movies more times than is medically advisable, perhaps it’s time to look to television.Ī lot of different shows come under the heading of a “spy thriller”.
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