Television series

Mission: Impossible

Name: Mission: Impossible
Genre: Action, Adventure, Espionage
Released: 1966
Cast: Greg Morris, Peter Lupus, Peter Graves, Martin Landau, Barbara Bain

Other titles called Mission: Impossible: the 1996 film.

Mission: Impossible is less a spy show than a weekly heist procedural: a team of specialists assembles, plans a job with surgical precision, and executes it while wearing someone else's face. The pleasure isn't character or danger — it's watching a plan you don't fully understand click into place. Cool, clinical, and formally inventive, it's for anyone who loves a con explained after the fact.

TVMaze rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love caper plots built like clockwork, where the fun is watching a team of specialists rig an elaborate trap and the disguises, gadgets and sleight of hand do the talking.

Skip it if you want serialized storytelling or deep character arcs, since each week resets with a new target and a new crew, and the people stay largely sketched rather than developed.

What it asks of you: Roughly an hour a week across seven seasons, so it rewards dipping in and out. Each episode is self-contained, moves briskly, and keeps its tone playful rather than grim.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.1964

Same era, same appetite for gadgets and glamorous cover identities, but leans into wit and romance where M:I stays clinical — a lighter companion piece from the same Cold War toy box.

But The chemistry between its two leads carries more weight than the plotting, which can feel thin next to M:I's clockwork planning.

Alias2001

Takes the mask-and-cover-identity DNA of M:I and injects it with emotional stakes, serialized mythology, and a lead who actually gets a personal life.

But The espionage plotting gets increasingly baroque and mythology-heavy, a long way from M:I's self-contained mission-of-the-week structure.

Leverage2008

A modern heir apparent — a team of specialists running elaborate cons each week, disguises and reveals included, but with a Robin Hood conscience and a sense of humour M:I never allowed itself.

But The tone is warmer and jokier throughout; if you loved M:I's poker-faced seriousness, this might feel too pleased with itself.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Mission: Impossible

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Topkapi1964

This heist thriller's elaborate museum break-in — a specialist lowered by wire to avoid a pressure-sensitive floor — is the scene M:I's creators openly borrowed for the show's signature safe-cracking sequences; watch it and you're watching the blueprint.

A gorgeously shot, gently comic caper that invented the 'team of specialists cracks an impossible vault' template two years before M:I put it on television, played with wit rather than solemnity.

But It's slower and more character-driven than M:I, with a bickering ensemble and a sense of humour that undercuts the tension the show plays dead straight.

Ocean's Eleven2001

Same pleasure of watching a crew of specialists execute an impossible plan down to the second, filmed with more visual flair and star wattage than any TV budget could buy.

But It's a single two-hour caper rather than a returning format, so the 'team assembles for the job' thrill happens once and you're done.

The A-Team1983

Takes the disavowed-team-of-specialists premise and turns it into pure pulpy entertainment — explosions, wisecracks, and improvised gadgetry instead of quiet tradecraft.

But It swaps M:I's careful planning and tension for broad action-comedy; the plans are less clever, the tone far goofier.

Sneakers1992

A team of misfit specialists cracking impenetrable security systems, with the same fascination for gadgetry and disguise, plus a wry, humane sense of humour M:I rarely showed.

But It's more comedy-thriller than tense procedural, and the 'team' here bickers like old friends rather than executing with M:I's silent precision.

Burn Notice2007

A disavowed operative improvising cons and gadgets to survive, narrated with tradecraft explainers that scratch the same 'how did they do that' itch as M:I's reveals.

But It's sunnier, funnier, and far more talkative than M:I; the voiceover and quips replace the original's cool, wordless competence.

The Italian Job1969

British heist caper with the same love of elaborate planning and split-second timing, plus a genuinely great job-goes-sideways centrepiece.

But It's broader and more comedic than M:I, closer to a lark than a tense operation, and the plot is thinner than a full season's worth of missions.

Hustle2004

A British series about a crew of con artists running long, layered grifts on marks who deserve it — the same joy in watching a plan unfold exactly as designed.

But It's about criminals conning civilians rather than agents serving a mission, so the stakes feel lower and the tone cheekier throughout.

Now You See Me2013

Swap tradecraft for stage magic and you've got the same engine — a team pulls off an 'impossible' spectacle through meticulous planning and a final reveal explaining exactly how the trick worked — just dressed in sequins instead of disguises.

If the pleasure of M:I is the after-the-fact 'here's how we really did it' unmasking, this delivers that rush repeatedly, with heist-movie slickness and a knowing, trashy sense of fun.

But It trades M:I's cool procedural restraint for glossy, over-the-top spectacle and some genuinely silly plotting; anyone wanting realism should look elsewhere.

The Castle of Cagliostro1979

A gentleman thief who relies on disguise, gadgetry, and meticulous infiltration to pull off the impossible — the same toolkit M:I built a series on, transplanted into a breezy animated adventure directed by a young Hayao Miyazaki.

One of the great heist-adventure films, animated with astonishing energy, proving the 'master of disguise infiltrates the impenetrable fortress' idea works as pure joyful spectacle, not just spycraft solemnity.

But It's unmistakably a cartoon aimed at charm and adventure over tension, and the tone is romantic-comic rather than the icy competence M:I trades in.