The 25 Greatest Spy Shows in TV History

Long before the blockbuster film franchise of the same name, came this popular TV show about the agents of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). It ran for seven seasons and yielded a short-lived revival in 1988, which saw the return of star Peter Graves. The show’s iconic theme music and the burning-fuse title sequence continued into movie adaptations.

This Showtime series tasks a Muslim FBI agent (Michael Ealy) with infiltrating a terrorist sleeper cell. It rolled out before the streaming era in an unusual fashion, with each new episode premiering on a nightly basis. Season 2 was so dramatically overlooked that it doesn’t have a single critic or audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

This Hulu mini-series was co-created by author Lawrence Wright based on his 2006 book of the same name. It takes place in the late 1990s and follows the I-49 Squad, a counter-terrorism center tracking the rise of Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. One doesn’t need a spoiler warning to know how this saga tragically concludes.

This acclaimed series combines elements of geo-political espionage with a storyline ripped straight out of science fiction. J.K. Simmons plays quiet United Nations office worker Howard Silk, who discovers a parallel Earth and one very deadly doppelgänger. It ran for two seasons.

This briskly-paced series with a touch of humor centers on a “burned” spy (Jeffrey Donovan), who tries to figure out why he was abandoned by his former agency. A smash hit for the USA Network, it was the No. 2 scripted show on cable at the height of its popularity. The seventh and final season was followed by a prequel movie.

This British mini-series adapts a novel of the same name by espionage writer (and former spy) John le Carré. Set in Cairo, it follows a hotel night manager (Tom Hiddleston) into the dangerous world of an illegal arms dealer (Hugh Laurie). It won two Primetime Emmys.

“The Office” alum John Krasinski continues to reinvent himself with the role of Jack Ryan in this political action series. Expanding upon the world created by author Tom Clancy, each season puts Ryan amid various high-stakes adventures. Actors Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck, and Harrison Ford previously portrayed the same character in feature films.

This hit NBC series opens with the voluntary surrender of wanted fugitive Raymond “Red” Reddington (James Spader). Working alongside FBI profiler Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), he helps take down some of the world’s most dangerous criminals. Powerful acting and gripping plot twists have kept this show running for nine seasons with a 10th on the way.

“Stylish, engaging, and engrossing” is how Collider critic Allison Keene described this German spy series. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, an East German patrol guard (Jonas Nay) goes undercover on the opposite side of the Berlin Wall. Each episode features an infectious soundtrack of classic 1980s pop songs.

This period drama takes place during the Revolutionary War and culls inspiration from the real-life Culper Ring, an espionage network sometimes directed by George Washington himself. In the heart of British-occupied Long Island, a group of former childhood friends become unlikely spies. It ran on AMC for four seasons of 10 episodes each.

This British thriller series earned steady viewer growth and major awards throughout its first two seasons. Witness the deadly game of cat and mouse between MI5 operative Eve (Sandra Oh) and wicked assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). The saga concluded with an underwhelming fourth season.

Mel Brooks co-created this hilarious send-up of the secret agent subgenre made popular by the James Bond franchise and similar fare. It follows inept spy Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) and his cohorts at CONTROL as they take on the crime syndicate KAOS. An initial five-season run was followed by film adaptations and a short-lived series revival.

This dark spy comedy chronicles the exploits of intelligence officer John Tavner (Michael Dorman). On assignment in Iran, Tavner resorts to dangerous and morally dubious methods while trying to prevent nuclear war. It aired on Amazon Prime Video for two seasons.

After embedding vital spy secrets into his brain, a computer geek (Zachary Levi) becomes an unlikely secret agent in this NBC action dramedy series. While beloved by fans, the show struggled in the ratings throughout five seasons. It remains a television cult classic.

Not to be confused with the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, this cult British spy series debuted in 1961 and ran for six seasons. Follow suave agent John Steed (Patrick Macnee) and his partner as they take down maniacal supervillains and their sci-fi-like schemes. Groundbreaking for both its plotlines and its fashion sense, the show inspired spin-offs as well as a disastrous 1998 film adaptation.

Primarily known as “Spooks,” this British spy thriller centers around UK-based counterterrorist unit MI-5. Each season features gripping storylines and a rotating door of high-profile guest stars. It was followed by a 2015 feature film called “MI-5 (Spooks: The Greater Good).”

This Showtime drama captured the zeitgeist with its first two seasons, during which CIA operative Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) investigates a domestic terrorist plot. Subsequent seasons took Mathison deep into the Middle East and back as she continued to grapple with the war on terror. It won eight Primetime Emmy Awards by the time it concluded.

This German crime thriller takes place in post-WWI Berlin and presents a city in turmoil. Exhilarating visuals and a noirish tone bring each episode to life, as a police investigation cracks open a dizzying web of corruption. “Social context aside, the show is elevated even further by truly superb acting, and a narrative flow that assumes that viewers are intelligent enough to follow a story without having to explain every single twist,” wrote TV critic Anne Cohen for Refinery29.

On a deep-cover assignment in the U.S., Russian agents (Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys) take on the guise of a normal suburban American family in this acclaimed spy drama. Their story unfolds during the 1980s Cold War and interweaves high-stakes action with compelling domestic drama. Creator Joseph Weisberg drew upon his real-life experiences in the CIA when crafting the initial concept.

Modern TV doesn’t get more propulsive than this blockbuster series, in which counter-terrorism Agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) has just 24 hours to prevent an attack. Each episode spans a single hour – complete with ticking clock – and touches down on multiple subplots. It won 20 Primetime Emmy Awards and yielded a short-lived spin-off called “24: Legacy.”

This six-part British drama adapts a novel by John le Carré and centers on spymaster George Smiley (Alec Guinness). When a Soviet defector is murdered, Smiley comes out of retirement and squares off against his former nemesis. It’s a follow-up to the 1979 mini-series “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” also based on a le Carré novel.

Actor Alec Guinness first tackled the role of George Smiley in this seven-part serial from the BBC. Brought out of semi-retirement, the British spymaster is tasked with uncovering a mole from within his own former organization. The John le Carré novel upon which it’s based also inspired a 2011 feature film, with Gary Oldman playing Smiley.

Hollywood veteran Jonathan Nolan created this gripping procedural with sci-fi elements and dystopian themes. Working together, an ex-CIA agent (Jim Caviezel) and a wealthy tech genius (Michael Emerson) use advanced software to stop crimes before they occur. Four of its five seasons hold a 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

This animated spy comedy skewers genre tropes by way of its dysfunctional characters and sitcom-like conventions. At the heart of the show is Sterling Archer himself (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin), an entitled but talented secret agent. It recently concluded its 13th season.

Inspired by real people and events, this French spy drama finds intelligence officer Guillaume Debailly returning to Paris after an undercover mission in Syria. It also examines the personal and professional lives of his fellow agents at the Directorate-General for External Security. On IMDb’s list of the 250 Top Rated TV Shows, it currently sits at #184.