Best Spy Drama Shows of All Time (Ranked 25 to 1)

25. The Sympathizer

Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this series drops us into the fractured identity of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy (Hoa Xuande) who flees to the U.S. after the fall of Saigon. His mission: report back to the Viet Cong while living among his enemies. Robert Downey Jr., in a tour de force of disguise, plays four very different American men standing in his way. Beneath its glossy, gel-slick surface lies a sharp, politically charged story of divided loyalties, cultural exile, and the cost of living between worlds.

24. The Night Agent

Peter Sutherland is a low-level FBI agent working a quiet White House phone line, until it rings. What begins as a routine call explodes into a web of terrorist plots, political corruption, and high-octane chases. Season two ups the ante with new enemies and deadlier stakes. It’s unapologetically pulpy, but that’s the point. ‘The Night Agent’ delivers pure, uncut adrenaline.

23. The Ipcress File

A Cold War classic reborn, this six-part adaptation of Len Deighton’s thriller brings back the sardonic charm of reluctant spy Harry Palmer (Joe Cole). Drafted into British Intelligence to investigate the disappearance of a top nuclear scientist, Palmer uncovers a conspiracy layered with brainwashing, double-crosses, and possible murder. Lucy Boynton shines as Jean Courtney, a rising agent whose loyalties are as intriguing as the case itself.

22. Jack Ryan

From desk analyst to field operative, John Krasinski’s Jack Ryan transforms from a man behind a monitor to one in the line of fire. Across the seasons, Ryan untangles global conspiracies that pit him against cartels, corrupt politicians, and terrorist masterminds. Each mission forces him deeper into the moral compromises of spy work, while explosive action sequences remind us that no desk job stays safe forever.

21. Spy/Master

Set in the last gasp of the Cold War, this tense Romanian drama follows Victor Godeanu, the trusted right-hand man of dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, and a covert KGB agent. When his cover begins to fray, Godeanu has one week to defect before his own government silences him. Inspired by the real defection of Romanian intelligence chief Ion Mihai Pacepa, ‘Spy/Master’ is a week-long sprint through paranoia.

20. The Game

In this taut British drama, the 1970s spy game is played with clipped voices and cold stares. MI5 agent Joe Lamb (Tom Hughes) uncovers “Operation Glass,” a Soviet plot of unnerving precision. He reports to the steel-eyed Bobby Waterhouse (Paul Ritter) and MI5 chief “Daddy” (Brian Cox), whose leadership style is as ruthless as the enemies they hunt. It’s a chess match in trench coats, and no pawn is safe.

19. Tehran

Mossad cyber-ops specialist Tamar Rabinyan slips into Tehran to hack Iranian air defenses ahead of a critical strike. But when the mission collapses, she must navigate the city’s streets and shadows while hunted by Faraz Kamali, a dogged Revolutionary Guard investigator. As her personal ties in Iran resurface, Tamar is forced to choose between her mission and her bloodline.

18. The Spy

Sacha Baron Cohen sheds his comedic skin for a chilling portrayal of Eli Cohen, Israel’s most legendary Mossad agent. Operating deep inside Syrian high society in the 1960s, Cohen becomes indispensable to those in power, and dangerously close to being exposed. Based on the true story that shaped Middle Eastern history, ‘The Spy’ is a masterclass in slow-burn suspense, where every handshake could be your last.

17. Black Doves

Keira Knightley’s Helen Webb looks like the picture of domestic bliss—a politician husband, elegant soirées, perfect children. But Helen’s been feeding secrets to a clandestine organization for years. When her lover is killed, she turns to Sam Young (Ben Whishaw), a champagne-sipping assassin with a knack for trouble. Stylish, dangerous, and laced with forbidden desire, ‘Black Doves’ makes betrayal look intoxicating.

16. The Agency

Michael Fassbender plays “Martian,” a deep-cover CIA operative pulled out of the shadows and back to London. When a long-lost love reappears, he finds himself torn between the mission and his heart…and in the spy world, love is the most dangerous liability of all. What follows is a deadly swirl of old betrayals, shifting allegiances, and international power plays.

15. Alias

Before she was an action icon, Jennifer Garner was Sydney Bristow—the CIA double agent living a life of lies on both sides of the law. ‘Alias’ practically redefined the spy genre in 2001 with its breakneck pace, twisting conspiracies, and jaw-dropping cliffhangers. Each episode is a cocktail of disguises, death-defying stunts, and moral ambiguity. Big-name guest stars including Quentin Tarantino and Bradley Cooper add to the show’s electric unpredictability. This wasn’t just a spy thriller; it was a serialized adrenaline rush.

14. Killing Eve

When MI5 desk agent Eve Polastri meets her match in the elegant psychopath Villanelle, a game begins…not of capture, but of obsession. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s ‘Killing Eve’ blends jet-setting glamour with sudden, shocking violence. Over four seasons, Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer turn their cat-and-mouse chase into a twisted love story, where seduction and slaughter walk hand in hand. The couture wardrobes, wicked humor, and globe-hopping assassinations make this series as stylish as it is deadly.

13. 24

Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) doesn’t have the luxury of time, and neither do you. Every 24-episode season plays out in real time, covering one catastrophic day in the life of America’s most relentless counter-terrorism agent. Between assassination plots, nuclear threats, and political backstabbing, the show is pure pulse-pounding chaos. Yet amidst the explosions and shootouts, it slips in layers of conspiracy and moral grayness that firmly plant it in the spy thriller realm.

12. Counterpart

Imagine the Cold War, but across parallel universes. In ‘Counterpart,’ J.K. Simmons delivers two extraordinary performances as mild-mannered bureaucrat Howard Silk and his ruthless doppelgänger from a mirror world. When assassins cross dimensions, the two Howards must work together, exposing secrets that could ignite interdimensional war. It’s espionage wrapped in a sci-fi mystery box—intricate, cerebral, and hauntingly tense.

11. Cambridge Spies

Before James Bond, there was betrayal of a far more chilling kind. This four-part BBC miniseries delves into the real-life origins of Britain’s most notorious double agents—the Cambridge Five. Beginning in 1934, the show follows a group of privileged, idealistic young men lured into the service of the Soviet Union. Seduced by champagne-soaked parties, anti-fascist fervor, and the intoxicating thrill of rebellion, they embark on a twenty-year spree of treachery, selling Britain’s deepest secrets to Moscow. ‘Cambridge Spies’ offers a sumptuous yet sobering portrait of betrayal dressed in silk and champagne.

10. Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Forget the bubbly, gun-toting charm of the Brad Pitt–Angelina Jolie film. Donald Glover and Maya Erskine’s reboot turns the premise darker, stranger, and infinitely more unnerving. Two strangers, paired up by a secretive agency, must pose as a married couple while carrying out high-risk missions. Their banter simmers with charm, but beneath the surface lies something off-kilter, even sinister. As the missions escalate, so does the creeping feeling that neither is truly in control, or entirely trustworthy.

9. Fauda

Espionage isn’t just about codes and satellites, sometimes it’s gritty, street-level, and personal. ‘Fauda’ plunges viewers into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, following a retired undercover operative dragged back into the shadows to hunt an old nemesis. The lines between hero and villain blur in the dust and blood of real-world politics, making the show as morally complex as it is action-packed.

8. A Spy Among Friends

Set in the tense twilight of the Cold War, this adaptation of Ben Macintyre’s non-fiction book is a slow-burning study of friendship poisoned by betrayal. Guy Pearce’s Kim Philby is charming, brilliant, and treacherous. He plays the long game against Damian Lewis’s Nicholas Elliott, an MI6 officer who can’t bring himself to see the truth. Anna Maxwell Martin’s sharp, fictional MI5 interrogator slices through the old boys’ club politeness like a scalpel. This isn’t about car chases; it’s about the psychological chess match behind history’s greatest betrayals.

7. Homeland

What if the war hero was the threat? ‘Homeland’ starts with that premise and spins it into eight seasons of paranoia, political intrigue, and dangerous intimacy. Damian Lewis’s Nicholas Brody and Claire Danes’s Carrie Mathison circle each other in a spiral of trust, betrayal, and obsession. CIA backrooms, terrorist hideouts, and the murky moral waters between them make this show one of the most gripping modern spy sagas.

6. Smiley’s People

In John le Carré’s universe, heroism is a myth and victory is rarely clean. Alec Guinness’s George Smiley, a retired intelligence officer, is drawn back to confront his Soviet nemesis, Karla. There are no car chases here, only coded messages, dead drops, and the quiet devastation of betrayal. It’s a masterclass in tension built not from explosions, but from the tightening of a noose made of lies.

5. The Night Manager

Opulence, danger, and moral decay swirl together in this John le Carré adaptation. Tom Hiddleston’s Jonathan Pine, a hotel night manager with a soldier’s past, infiltrates the world of Hugh Laurie’s charmingly monstrous arms dealer. From Cairo to the Swiss Alps, ‘The Night Manager’ seduces you with its beauty before plunging you into its moral abyss. Olivia Colman steals every scene as the intelligence officer orchestrating the game from the shadows.

4. The Little Drummer Girl

This criminally underrated miniseries is a slow, hypnotic burn. Florence Pugh’s Charlie, an actress with radical sympathies, is drawn into a Mossad operation targeting Palestinian militants. Each scene is drenched in unease, every smile masking another layer of manipulation. ‘The Little Drummer’ Girl is essentially a study in how identities are built, dismantled, and weaponized.

3. Slow Horses

Welcome to Slough House—MI5’s dumping ground for screw-ups. Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb is a chain-smoking, foul-mouthed spymaster who hides his brilliance under layers of slovenly disdain. When these cast-off agents stumble into genuine conspiracies, the results are as darkly hilarious as they are deadly. With each season, ‘Slow Horses’ proves that in espionage, the underdogs can be the most dangerous players of all.

2. The Americans

The Cold War was fought in kitchens and living rooms as much as in embassies and battlefields. Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys play Soviet sleeper agents posing as the perfect suburban American couple—all while conducting assassinations, honey traps, and intelligence theft. ‘The Americans’ is a slow-burn masterwork, balancing intimate family drama with razor-sharp spycraft. It’s not just about who wins the war, it’s about what the war turns you into.

1. The Bureau

France’s answer to ‘The Americans’ is even colder, quieter, and more devastating. ‘The Bureau’ follows deep-cover operative Guillaume “Malotru” DeBailly as he navigates the personal fallout of returning home after years embedded in Damascus. But when the woman he loved in Syria appears in Paris, Malotru risks everything, including his country’s security, to protect her. This series is espionage stripped to its bones: methodical, unsentimental, and utterly gripping. It’s not just the best spy show ever made, it’s a thesis on the cost of living a life built on lies.