I liked both seasons of The Night Manager, but imho by the far the best spy show (and one of the best TV series of all time in general) is a french one: The Bureau (Le bureau des légendes). There is an american remake now as well, but I only watched the first five minutes or so. I can’t imagine it being as good as the original.
The Little Drummer Girl is a nice spy mini-series (with Florence Pugh in a leading role). The Spy (with Sasha Baron Cohen) was another worthwhile mini-series a few years ago. The Israeli show Fauda is also highly recommended for people who like action-packed spy shows. Also from Israel and on a much more serious is Our Boys, which is based on the tragic events around the murder of three Israeli teenagers and the subsequent murder of a Palestinian teenager.
I could go on and on, haha, I seem to enjoy the genre
ah thanks for the tips! might check the original Bureau and Night Manager at some point… Spy series are indeed fun, when they get it right… The Slow Horses are apparently getting another season at some point.
Happened upon How to Get To Heaven from Belfast, which is a proper oddball of a series, but I’m onboard for now… sorta Twin Peaks meets … something, not sure what really
Two more spy shows from a few years ago that I thoroughly enjoyed: Rubicon (sadly not renewed for a second season) and The Hour (with Dominic West).
I also love gritty cop shows. Speaking of Dominic West, obviously The Wire (probably the unsurmountable GOAT show for me) has to be mentioned first. David Simon’s last effort, We Own This City (from 2022), was also a great example of the genre. I also have fond memories of Southland. And as a bit of a curveball another brilliant Israeli series: Manayek (have not yet seen Season 2, but the first one was amazing). And for something with a different flavor, more classic murder mystery, but still with plenty of grit: Broadchurch (with David Tennant and Olivia Colman).
Edit (some more spy stuff): The Diplomat (with Kerri Russel of The Americans fame, which obviously could also be mentioned, but I try to stay clear from recommending all too obvious ones – apart from The Wire :D) was great. The very recent Ponies (with Emilia Clarke) was fun, but too over the top for my tastes. I prefer more realism and grit.
Caught a proper annoying cold so I’ve been doing some TV watching. Have two new ones to recommend in a similar vein as the last ones. On Call is a show about a rookie cop and his training officer set in Long Beach, California. The short half-hour format feels unexpected in a proper drama, but it is more than worth a watch. Good stuff, reminded me of Southland.
And afterwards I started watching City on a Hill – with a brilliant Kevin Bacon as a dirty FBI agent in early 90ies Boston. The first season is about bank robbers from a predominantly Irish working-class neighbourhood. Just started watching the second season and this one appears to shift the focus to the projects and their black communities. This shifting of underlying topic gives me some The Wire vibes (a good bunch of familiar faces from The Wire and similar HBO shows in this one as well)
Edit: A familiar face that I couldn’t immediately place led me down a rabbit hole and back to another good show: Brotherhood from 2006. It’s about two Irish-American brothers, one a gangster, the other a cop, in Providence, RI.
Has Counterpart been recommended yet? MASSIVELY overlooked spy-fi from the Shogun showrunner set in Berlin during a Cold War that’s not between the East and the West but between….well I don’t want to spoil it but if you like Severance you might like this. JK Simmons is immense in it.
Try Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation if you like Frieren. A contenter for the best isekai opening and the animation quality is also up there like Frieren. I find the first half season to be engaging, hopefully you like the rest too.
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: I have to agree with the critical drinker, it’s nice to get a simple fantasy show with ok production. Not over the top or plastered with political messaging. Being starved of good stories told well (star trek academy being the antithesis) makes a winner out of: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Whiskey on the Rocks: Pretty funny scenario about how vodka beaches a Soviet submarine in a Swedish archipelago. Great use of stereotypes and caricature and a plausible enough story to carry it.
definitely a nice redemption after the way GOT crashed and burned but could also just have been a 2 hr. movie. hoping the second season goes a bit more Mandalorian with side quests for Dunk and Egg.
I’m on season 3. This show had a creative energy that you rarely see. Fun and messy is an apt description. There’s sometimes a lot of characters and plot lines. But it never gets dull and there’s so many magical moments. Tatiana’s work on this is mind blowing. Completely convincing scenes involving her playing three or more characters. Some times one her characters is disguised as a different character that she portrays and she even makes that believable. I’m going to be sad when I make it through the five seasons
