10 Best Spy TV Shows You Need To Add To Your Watchlist

Did you come alone? Are you sure you weren't followed? Good. As what we have here is sensitive information for your eyes only, should you need a top-secret story to add to your watchlist. After careful consideration and off-the-books operations, we've compiled a list of some of the best spy television shows you should make your way through if you've not seen them already, with every one more nail-biting than the last. There's danger, there are double-crosses, and there are people in really sharp suits regularly getting blood on them — all for the good of their nation's safety, looking ridiculously cool at the same time.

Scanning across various networks, we've identified the best batch of agents to invest in. Some are lethal weapons deployed in the field, risking it all to save the world, while others have helped save literal galaxies by taking on the tough jobs that others are too afraid to do. Either way, these are the kind of confidential day-savers that we can't get enough of, and when you're done with them, you won't be able to either. Give them a look and be warned that this list will self-destruct in however long it takes you to read it. 

Shaken and stirred with the same kind of vigor and excitement as a James Bond movie, Tom Hiddleston was put on duty as "The Night Manager" in 2016, and it's a wonder why it's taken so long for him to return to the job. Adapted from espionage extraordinaire John le Carré, who had penned "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," "The Night Manager" follows Jonathan Pine, an ex-British soldier and hotel manager, whose world is turned upside down when an illegal arms dealer (Hugh Laurie) and his equally criminal cohorts check in to the establishment. Thanks to his particular set of skills, including knowing how to fold towels into swans and handling covert operations, Pine is enlisted by the British government to infiltrate his guest's enterprise and dismantle it from the inside.

Written by David Farr, the six-part series features an incredible collection of British talent that puts everyone at the top of their game. Laurie is delightfully despicable as the villainous arms dealer, Richard "Dickie" Onslow Roper, and Tom Hollander handles being his weaselly second-in-command wonderfully. What should come as absolutely no surprise, however, is Olivia Colman taking the role of Pine's handler, Angela Burr; Colman was pregnant during the entirety of filming, which was written into her character. Given that after eight years, Amazon and BBC finally signed off on a second and third season, there's no better time to check in with the first season for when "The Night Manager" finally returns.

What might still be one of the best series on Apple TV is also one of the best spy shows ever made. "Slow Horses" has churned out a near-perfect five-season run so far, with now-former showrunner Will Smith doing an incredible job of adapting Mick Herron's "Slough House" book series. The show follows a band of MI5's worst, who, even after being dumped at the worn-down office of Slough House for being failures in their own way, still manage to find themselves in the thick of it, taking down terrorist cells or uncovering forgotten government secrets that return with a vengeance.

Besides being surprisingly hilarious, Herron's world of Slow Horses, dogs, and Joes is an engrossing one with a vast collection of fleshed-out failures who are all doing everything they can to find some form of redemption. Leading the way effortlessly, though, is Oldman, who has been the biggest draw on the show as Jackson Lamb, the bitter spy boss who will discuss off-the-books operations while inhaling an ice cream and shamelessly passing gas. Just like the "Slow Horses" themselves, this show really shouldn't work and yet absolutely does. Bust open the rusty back door of Slough House and see what you've been missing out on.

Not to be confused with the other night-based secret operative at work on this list, "The Night Agent" is Netflix's surprise little hit that already has two seasons under its belt. Released in 2023, the show stars Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland, an FBI agent whose time as a desk jockey is interrupted when he's forced into action after taking a call he never expected. From there, he's sent on a classic cat-and-mouse chase that sees him on a deep dive into a government conspiracy and a mole hunt that sends him all the way to the top — don't they always? Throw in a dark past involving his father's questionable death and Sutherland being the green but keen agent desperate to prove himself, and "The Night Agent" quickly becomes a bingeable bit of entertainment with a thrilling edge.

Currently, Netflix has given the green light for a third season of "The Night Agent," which has yet to receive a release date, but it can't come soon enough. This is the kind of action-packed watch that, besides being worth a look, features a compelling lead at its center, with a presence that screams "action star in the making." There doesn't look to be any sign of "The Night Agent" calling it a day, but we hope it doesn't happen for a while.

Is it really a television list without including at least one Taylor Sheridan-created show in the ranks? While it might come as a surprise to some, the writer/director who has carved out a significant portion of television with the "Yellowstone" universe has also ventured into Paramount+'s hard-hitting thriller series, "Lioness." Feeling like it's firing in the same target range as "Sicario" (which was the movie that put Sheridan's name on the map), "Lioness" begins with Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira) being recruited by grizzled CIA operative Joe McNamara (Zoe Saldaña), who heads the Lioness program. Solely comprised of female operatives, the Lionesses go where male agents can't infiltrate terrorist cells until they're close enough to take out their targets fatally.

Plenty of shows on this list have their fair share of awesome opening episodes, but "Lioness" kicks in with a blockbuster-level battle scene that belongs in a Ridley Scott film. It also refuses to let up on tension, featuring pulse-pounding set pieces, and an impressive supporting cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, and even Sheridan himself stepping in to lend a hand. They don't need to, of course, because as it was made swiftly apparent, girls really do get it done.

After an inconsistent stint on the big screen with the likes of Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine taking on the role, John Krasinski was hired to step in as CIA analyst Jack Ryan for Amazon's thriller series, making the role his own in the process. Krasinski's run at Ryan spanned four seasons, starting in 2018, with each one more gripping than the last. Selling the schtick of Ryan being a suit out of his depth but totally capable of stopping global conflicts and nation-shattering tragedies, "Jack Ryan" really made for an excellent vehicle for Krasinski, making it hardly a surprise when it was announced he'd be returning in his own feature film, which was announced in 2024.

With a cast that also includes Michael Peña, Michael Kelly, and Wendell Pierce, "Jack Ryan" felt like the kind of pristine, Dad-level television thanks to its top-tier cast, which predated shows like "Reacher," "The Terminal List," and "Mayor of Kingstown." With no confirmed release date attached to Ryan's upcoming film, it's worth bingeing his time on television to get in on the hype and be safe in the knowledge that Ryan's time in the CIA can only get better from here. Well, whenever we actually see it, that is.

We can't have a conversation about top-tier spy shows without giving mention of the Counter Terrorist Unit's MVP, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), who was renowned for having a series of very bad days. Debuting in 2001, "24" had the ingenious plot mechanic of every season spanning a single day, with each episode chronicling one hellish hour that saw our hero trying to locate bombs, find double-crossing agents, and occasionally break down in tears alone in his car. There's no question that, being an undeniably gripping spy series, it changed the way televised storytelling was done forever and helped shape how big and bombastic television could become.

Besides Sutherland spending nine seasons being a one-man army, "24" made a great effort of getting us attached to an army of CTU agents, Bauer's own family, as well as the U.S. President (Dennis Haysbert), and killing them off just as quickly. It was all part of the stress-inducing route that the show took right up until 2014. By that point, Bauer's final day might've come to an end with "24: Live Another Day," but Sutherland himself has revealed that a script for Day 10 has been written with an effort to get things going again and for the clock to start ticking once more.

Packing a similar British wit as "Slow Horses" but feeling a tad darker in some areas, "Black Doves" is perhaps the newest show on this list that is worth just as much attention. Arriving on Netflix in 2024, the show stars Keira Knightley as Helen Webb, a top-secret agent of a shady organization that plants its members within the highest levels possible. Webb, in this case, is a longtime undercover agent who's now married to the Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom. The murder of her lover triggers a highly intense whodunnit, with Webb's handler calling in the help of Sam Young (Ben Whishaw), a gun-for-hire, who is just as lethal as Webb and has personal business of his own to attend to.

Sat somewhere between "Killing Eve" and "Nikita," "Black Doves" is a massive shift for Knightley, who gets plenty of bumps, bruises, and wince-inducing scrapes that make her a force to be reckoned with. The real scene stealers, though, are Whishaw as her brilliantly blunt spy pal, as well as Sarah Lancashire as Webb's handler Reed, who operates like Bond's M, albeit far more cutthroat. Thankfully, this show has been given the go-ahead for a second season. We'll just have to wait until 2026 to see it. In the meantime, give "Black Doves" a watch and see what's heading your way. You won't be disappointed.

"Andor" is, besides a spectacular "Star Wars" show, arguably one of the best espionage stories ever created. Set before the events of "A New Hope" and "Rogue One," Tony Gilroy's gripping drama series follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), who finds himself lighting a match that will spark the Rebel Alliance. Only spanning two seasons, the show makes no attempt to make space for Jedis and mentions of the Force, and instead focuses on those with their boots on the ground and the growing war that's spreading across the galaxy. Alarmingly fitting for current times, the show might have Luna's character in the title, but "Andor" really is a joint effort driven by some incredible performances that make you feel like you could take on the Empire yourself.

Littered with some of the best-written dialogue ever to grace television, let alone the beloved sci-fi franchise, "Andor" doesn't shy away from the matter of oppression and the requirements needed for it to thrive, and more importantly, be stopped. Supported by the likes of Stellan Skarsgård, Forest Whitaker, Fiona Shaw, and Denise Gough, this really is the "Star Wars" story for people who don't like "Star Wars." It is also the most important entry on this list, one that should be watched for more than just good old-fashioned spy stuff.

Donald Glover and Maya Erskine are perhaps the coolest pair of spies on this list if it weren't for their ongoing relationship struggles as a made-up couple. Amazon's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" follows John and Jane Smith (Glover and Erskine, respectively), who are two strangers tasked with going deep undercover as a happily married couple. It isn't long before bullets and sparks begin to fly between the two as they go globe-trotting, kidnapping targets, and eliminating equally lethal couples bent on taking them out. Unfortunately, though, as their cover begins to slip and the two fall deeper for each other, very real relationship problems rise to the surface, becoming all the more difficult when they start to consider turning on each other instead.

Brilliantly balancing a raw and relatable couple that are also highly-trained killers, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" works exceptionally well because of the chemistry between its titular pair. Glover and Erskine do a great job on the field, but the real drama comes when these two are hurling their troubles at each other, and words turn to fully loaded weapons. There's also a great list of guest appearances, with every episode featuring a surprise star, ranging from Ron Perlman to John Turturro to Sarah Paulson. Unfortunately, it's unclear if there will be more of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"; the show was previously renewed for Season 2, but that season has since been reportedly delayed indefinitely.

Frederick Forsyth's beloved novel gets a modern-day upgrade from "Top Boy" creator Ronan Bennett in "The Day of the Jackal." Eddie Redmayne takes on the cold and calculated role of Alexander Duggan, aka The Jackal, a world-famous assassin who has crossed the sights of Bianca Pullman, an MI6 agent played by Lashana Lynch, who is hot on his tail and keen to stop his kill count from getting any higher.

For Lynch, top-secret spy stuff isn't anything new, given that she briefly held the 007 rank in Daniel Craig's final stint as Bond in "No Time To Die." For Redmayne, though, it feels like an alien role that he swiftly slips into and makes his own with expert precision. A chilling portrayal of an already ruthless individual, Redmayne's take on The Jackal might be one of his best performances in recent years and deserves a watch simply for that in this globe-trotting cat-and-mouse chase. Hiding in plain sight and taking out his targets with lethal efficiency, The Jackal quickly becomes a character you learn to love and be just as terrified of, which is what every bad guy should be aiming for. And good news: The show has been renewed for a second season.