Top 21 Spy TV Series of All Time

Cold War tradecraft, modern surveillance paranoia and a few comedies that laugh at the whole business. Which one would you binge first?

1. 1
   The Americans

   FX drama about two KGB agents posing as a suburban American couple in the 1980s.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

   1979 BBC adaptation of le Carré with Alec Guinness as George Smiley.
   927pts
3. 3
   The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

   1964 NBC series about two agents of a secret international organization.
   877pts
4. 4
   Archer

   FX animated spy comedy about a vain secret agent.
   799pts
5. 5
   Fauda

   Israeli thriller following an undercover counter-terrorism unit.
   709pts
6. 6
   24

   Real-time Fox thriller following counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer.
   709pts
7. 7
   Homeland

   Showtime thriller about CIA officer Carrie Mathison and a possibly turned US Marine.
   709pts
8. 8
   I Spy

   1965 NBC series that made Bill Cosby the first Black lead in a US drama.
   709pts
9. 9
   Killing Eve

   BBC America cat-and-mouse thriller between an MI5 officer and an assassin.
   600pts
10. 10
    The Night Manager

    Le Carré adaptation with Tom Hiddleston infiltrating an arms dealer's circle.
    600pts
11. 11
    Spooks

    BBC drama about MI5's counter-terrorism section, known as MI-5 in the US.
    600pts
12. 12
    Burn Notice

    USA Network series about a blacklisted spy stuck in Miami.
    466pts
13. 13
    The Prisoner

    Surreal 1967 British series about a former agent trapped in The Village.
    466pts
14. 14
    Slow Horses

    Apple TV+ series about MI5's washed-up agents led by Gary Oldman's Jackson Lamb.
    466pts
15. 15
    The Avengers

    1960s British series with John Steed and Emma Peel.
    466pts
16. 16
    Chuck

    NBC action comedy about a computer nerd with government secrets in his head.
    0pts
17. 17
    Mission: Impossible

    Classic 1966 CBS series about the Impossible Missions Force.
    0pts
18. 18
    The Bureau

    French series about the DGSE's undercover agents, known as Le Bureau des Légendes.
    0pts
19. 19
    Alias

    J.J. Abrams series starring Jennifer Garner as double agent Sydney Bristow.
    0pts
20. 20
    Get Smart

    1965 spy spoof created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry.
    0pts
21. 21
    The Agency

    2024 Paramount+ remake of The Bureau starring Michael Fassbender.
    0pts

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