Television series
The Game
Other titles called The Game: the 1997 film, the 2006 series (Paramount+).
A tense, character-driven spy thriller set in 1972 London, where British intelligence agents navigate a shadowy Cold War conflict. The Game balances intimate human drama with geopolitical intrigue, exploring how ordinary people cope with extraordinary deception. It's for viewers who want espionage with real stakes and genuine character depth, not just plot mechanics.
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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy2011
Le Carré's masterly Cold War novel becomes a measured, visually stunning film about surveillance and betrayal. Gary Oldman's Smiley embodies the quiet professionalism and moral ambiguity that defines this world.
But The pace is glacial and deliberately opaque. If you want clarity and fast plotting, this will frustrate you.
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold1965
Another le Carré adaptation, grimy and unglamorous, showing espionage as exhausting moral compromise rather than adventure. A perfect companion to The Game's tone.
But It's bleak and slow, with no action sequences. The world it depicts is deliberately hollow and corrupt.
Slow Horses2022
Mick Herron's series captures the same intelligence-agency intrigue with dark wit and complex characters. Gary Oldman leads a brilliant ensemble through layered plotting that rewards close attention.
But The first episode is deliberately confusing. You need to stay engaged and tolerant of narrative complexity from the start.
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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Sandbaggers1978
Both treat espionage as institutional, bureaucratic work done by unglamorous people. The Game is inspired by this real-world proceduralism rather than Bond fantasies.
A British spy series that aired just six years after The Game is set, featuring actual MI6 veterans as consultants. Procedural and political, it's the closest thing to documentary espionage on screen—this is how it actually worked.
But Made in 1978, the production is visibly dated. If you need cinematic polish and modern pacing, the early-TV format will feel slow.
More like this (8)
The Americans2013
Soviet KGB agents pose as an American couple during the Cold War. Explores the psychological toll of living a lie with extraordinary character depth and emotional precision.
But Extremely intense and often bleak. The marriage at its centre becomes increasingly strained in ways that feel claustrophobic.
The Pigeon Tunnel2023
A documentary where John le Carré himself reflects on his real spy career and how it shaped his fiction. Essential context for understanding the authenticity of The Game's world.
But It's a talking-head essay, not narrative drama. If you want plot movement, this meditative approach may feel static.
The Lives of Others2006
East German secret police surveillance state, told through a Stasi agent confronting his own humanity. Devastating about how espionage corrupts both watcher and watched.
But Deliberately bleak and slow-burning. The emotional toll builds quietly, which some find exhausting rather than gripping.
Our Kind of Traitor2016
Contemporary spy thriller with Damian Lewis, rooted in post-Cold War espionage and money. Sharp, stylish, and moves with real momentum.
But More plot-driven than character-driven. The intrigue sometimes overwhelms the human stakes.
Espionage1937
A miniseries about Cold War spies in divided Berlin. Intimate, tense, with strong ensemble work and genuine historical flavour.
But Low-budget production values. Some will find the pacing uneven across its run.
The Little Drummer Girl2018
le Carré's novel adapted into a miniseries with Florence Pugh and Michael Shannon. Complex, twisty, with a fresh perspective on espionage and loyalty.
But The narrative is deliberately fragmented and hard to follow. Reward requires real attention and tolerance for confusion.
Contempt1963
Both explore how people perform versions of themselves for survival. In Contempt, it's the marriage; in The Game, it's espionage. The machinery of deception is the same.
Godard's film about a marriage collapsing is ostensibly a meta-commentary on cinema, but it's also a meditation on deception and performance in relationships. Utterly different form, identical emotional engine to The Game.
But It's an experimental French art film that refuses conventional narrative. Godard's modernism requires active, patient viewing.
Burial2022
Both inhabit the same aesthetic world—1970s British institutional paranoia rendered as visual dread. The Game in grey daylight; Burial in grey darkness. Same DNA, different genre.
A low-budget British ghost story that channels 1970s intelligence paranoia into supernatural form. It captures the exact mood and visual texture of The Game—grey, paranoid, claustrophobic—while being something completely different.
But It's a horror film, not a thriller. The paranoia becomes supernatural rather than geopolitical, which may feel like genre betrayal.
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- Hilary SalmonExecutive Producer