Television series

Alex Rider

Name: Alex Rider
Genre: Action, Adventure, Espionage
Released: 2020
Cast: Otto Farrant, Brenock O'Connor, Vicky McClure, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Stephen Dillane

A sharp, energetic spy thriller for young adults that treats its protagonist with real intelligence. Otto Farrant carries the show as a reluctant teenager dragged into espionage after his uncle's death. It's lean and propulsive—45-minute episodes keep things moving—with genuine action and enough moral ambiguity to feel grown-up without losing its adventure-serial DNA.

TVMaze rating

3.6

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The Bourne Identity2002

The template for modern spy thrillers: a protagonist with secret training, fragmented memory, and the whole world after them. The action is visceral and comprehensible. Matt Damon gives you someone to follow through the chaos.

But The sequels diluted the formula. This one is perfect but might feel familiar if you've seen everything that copied it since.

Spy Game2001

Brad Pitt as a young operative navigating espionage with charm and improvisation. It moves fast, doubles back on itself brilliantly, and finds genuine stakes beneath the slickness. Pure entertainment that doesn't insult your intelligence.

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Alex Rider

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Argylle2024

Both treat spy fiction as adventure-story scaffolding where the real pleasure is the ride, not the realism. Argylle goes further—it meta-comments on that DNA.

Matthew Vaughn's audacious spy-fiction-within-spy-fiction about a romance novelist whose books accidentally predict real espionage. It's a candy-coloured genre playground that winks at how Alex Rider itself winks at spy tropes—layers of playfulness.

But It's aggressively silly in a way that requires you to be on its wavelength. The tone is so heightened some audiences find it grating rather than fun.

The Recruit2003

Al Pacino and Colin Farrell in a CIA thriller about a young analyst pulled into field work. It has the same 'normal person thrust into espionage' energy, with good twists and genuine paranoia about who to trust.

But The plot relies on a reveal that feels thin on second viewing. It's competent rather than exceptional—a solid thriller, not a memorable one.

Bodyguard2018

A six-episode British political thriller with a young protagonist caught between powerful forces. Taut, genuinely unpredictable, and the kind of show that makes you stay up far too late to see what happens next.

But The final act divides people sharply. Some feel the ending undercuts everything; others think it's perfectly calibrated. You'll have to decide.

Gunpowder2017

Kit Harington in a tense historical thriller about the Gunpowder Plot. Three episodes of paranoia and intrigue with real historical stakes and a protagonist trying to navigate impossible politics.

But It's quite dark and violent for its length. The pacing is glacial at times, and the historical setup might feel unfamiliar if that period isn't your thing.

Citadel2023

Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden as spies with erased memories rebuilding themselves. Glossy, energetic action sequences and the kind of high-concept espionage premise that invites you to surrender to its logic.

But It trades substance for spectacle. The character work is shallow, and the plotting often feels generated by a formula rather than genuine stakes.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.2015

Guy Ritchie's stylish Cold War spy caper with Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer. Gorgeous to look at, clever in its construction, and genuinely funny about spy-fiction tropes while respecting them.

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Spycraft2021

A documentary series using espionage films and TV to explore real tradecraft, from dead drops to psychological manipulation. It's fascinating for anyone who wants to understand what spy fiction gets right and wrong.

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Artemis Fowl2020

Both feature young people discovering they've been trained or prepared for a world they didn't choose, navigating that world with intelligence rather than physical dominance.

A teen protagonist gifted but isolated, forced into a criminal underworld to save family, learning tradecraft on the fly. It has the same reluctant-hero-thrust-into-espionage architecture, but swaps spy agencies for magical crime families.

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The 3552022

Both explore how younger/outsider operatives navigate systems of power, and how small teams can outmaneuver larger bureaucracies through ingenuity and trust.

Five female spies from different agencies working outside official channels. It's a slick, propulsive action film that inverts the usual espionage power structures—a fresh angle on the genre Alex Rider itself engages with.

But It wants to be a franchise-starter and feels designed by committee. The character work is sacrificed to plot mechanics and action setpieces.