20 Must-Watch Modern British Spy Thrillers
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Last Updated on May 9, 2025 by Stefanie Hutson
From James Bond and Callan to The Avengers and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the UK has a long history of high-quality spy dramas – but it's an area that has evolved dramatically in recent years, with a surge in quality shows that blend traditional spy craft with modern themes, technology, and character-driven storytelling. From gritty realism to globe-trotting suspense, we take a look at 16 of the best modern British espionage dramas.
Editor's Note: In this case, we're defining “modern” as any British spy drama made after the year 2000 (regardless of the time period in which it's set).
Slow Horses (2022– )
Set in a neglected division of MI5, this series centers on a group of sidelined agents tasked with handling unimportant or politically sensitive cases no one else wants. Their department, informally known as Slough House, is home to officers who’ve made career-ending mistakes. Leading the team is the frequently disgusting, always blunt, chain-smoking intelligence veteran portrayed by Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), whose abrasive methods and disdain for bureaucracy mask a sharp mind honed over decades in the field.
While the series has moments of dry, dark humor, it also features tightly plotted investigations that play out across London and beyond. Jack Lowden (War & Peace) stars as an ambitious younger agent determined to prove himself, often clashing with Oldman’s character. The supporting cast includes Kristin Scott Thomas (Fleabag) as a senior official at MI5 headquarters and Saskia Reeves (Luther) as a seasoned administrator within Slough House. The series balances character-driven storytelling with intricate, slow-burning spy plots. Watch it HERE.
Treason (2022)
After an unexpected rise to the top ranks of MI6, a young intelligence officer is thrust into a world of political tension, hidden agendas, and hard choices. As he struggles to assert control in a role he may not be ready for, old secrets and past alliances begin to surface—threatening both his career and the safety of those around him.
The series explores the personal and professional toll of secrecy, trust, and power within Britain's intelligence community. Charlie Cox (Daredevil) anchors the story with a measured performance as the conflicted lead, supported by Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and Oona Chaplin (The Hour). Ciarán Hinds (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) also delivers a memorable turn as a seasoned figure with deep roots in the agency. Watch it on Netflix.
MI5 (Spooks) (2002–2011)
This long-running series focuses on the work of a counter-intelligence team within MI5, tackling threats ranging from domestic terrorism to international espionage. Set largely in London, it offers a fast-paced, high-stakes look at the personal and professional sacrifices made by those working in British national security. The show became known for its unpredictable plot twists and its willingness to kill off major characters without warning.
The ensemble cast evolved over its ten-season run, with standout performances from Matthew Macfadyen (Ripper Street), Keeley Hawes (Line of Duty), David Oyelowo (Les Misérables), and Nicola Walker (Unforgotten). Known internationally as Spooks, the series remains one of the most iconic entries in the British spy drama genre. Watch it HERE.
Informer (2018)
After a seemingly minor run-in with the law, a young man living in East London finds himself pressured by counter-terrorism officers to work as an informant. With little choice but to comply, he is drawn into a complex and often dangerous world where trust is scarce and every decision carries consequences. As he tries to maintain his family life and sense of self, the pressure of living under constant scrutiny begins to wear him down, revealing the human cost of surveillance-based policing.
Nabhaan Rizwan (Station Eleven) gives a compelling and understated performance as the reluctant informant, capturing the anxiety and isolation of someone caught between two worlds. He is joined by Paddy Considine (The Suspicions of Mr Whicher) as the seasoned officer who recruits him, and Bel Powley (Everything I Know About Love) as a fellow agent navigating her own conflicting loyalties. Watch it HERE.
Deep State (2018–2019)
An ex-MI6 operative is reluctantly drawn back into intelligence work, uncovering a dangerous web of international conspiracies tied to private interests and foreign conflicts. The story emphasizes both action and the ethical consequences of espionage. Mark Strong (The Long Firm) stars alongside Joe Dempsie (Skins) and Karima McAdams (Fearless), in a thriller that blends global stakes with personal vendettas. Watch it HERE.
Traitors (2019)
Set in post-WWII Britain, this period thriller follows a young civil servant recruited by the Americans to spy on her own government. The show offers a stylish portrayal of early Cold War intrigue and the ideological tensions that shaped a new world order. Emma Appleton (The Witcher), Keeley Hawes (Line of Duty), and Michael Stuhlbarg (Your Honor) lead a strong ensemble cast. Watch it on Netflix.
Undercover (2016)
A prominent lawyer’s world unravels when she learns her husband was an undercover police officer assigned to monitor her decades earlier. Inspired by real-life revelations about long-term undercover operations in the UK, the series combines domestic drama with questions of state overreach. Sophie Okonedo (Chimerica) and Adrian Lester (Hustle) bring emotional depth to a complex and timely story. Watch it HERE.
Legacy (2013)
Set in 1970s Britain, this Cold War-era drama follows a young MI6 recruit as he takes on his first assignment: investigating the activities of a suspected Soviet operative. As he digs deeper into the case, he begins to uncover troubling connections that suggest his own father may have ties to the enemy. What begins as a standard intelligence operation gradually transforms into a far more personal and emotionally charged mission, blurring the line between loyalty to country and loyalty to family.
Based on the novel by Alan Judd, the series brings a literary tone and restrained pacing to its espionage plot, placing a strong emphasis on character development and internal conflict. Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire) plays the new recruit with quiet intensity, while Andrew Scott (Sherlock) and Romola Garai (The Hour) lend weight to the supporting roles as colleagues and potential adversaries. Watch it HERE.
The Game (2014)
Set against the backdrop of 1970s Britain, this espionage thriller follows a covert MI5 task force as they work to uncover a suspected Soviet mole operating deep within British intelligence. As the investigation progresses, personal loyalties are tested and political alliances shift, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty where no one can be fully trusted. With limited resources and intense pressure from senior officials, the team must act quickly while carefully navigating institutional rivalries and hidden agendas.
Tom Hughes (Victoria) plays the sharp, quietly ambitious young agent at the center of the investigation, with Brian Cox (Succession) playing the experienced and potentially compromised senior figure. Victoria Hamilton (Doctor Foster) rounds out the lead cast as a senior intelligence officer balancing personal and professional stakes. Watch it HERE.
The Capture (2019– )
After a British soldier is arrested for a violent crime caught on camera, he insists he is innocent—even as the evidence appears damning. Assigned to the case is a detective with a reputation for thorough work, who begins to suspect that the security footage may not be as reliable as it seems. As she follows a trail of inconsistencies, she uncovers unsettling signs that surveillance technology is being manipulated in ways that challenge the very foundations of truth and justice.
The story unfolds in a tightly controlled, procedural format, gradually revealing a complex network of state surveillance, media influence, and institutional cover-ups. At the center is Holliday Grainger (Strike), playing a determined investigator whose skepticism grows as the case deepens. Callum Turner (War & Peace) portrays the accused soldier, raising questions about how much control individuals really have in a world of ever-present digital monitoring. Watch it HERE or on Peacock.
Alex Rider (2020– )
When a seemingly ordinary London schoolboy loses his uncle in a suspicious accident, he soon learns the shocking truth: his uncle was a covert operative for British intelligence. Drawn into the world of espionage, the teenager is recruited by a secret division of MI6 and tasked with completing the mission his uncle left unfinished. Though initially reluctant, his natural instincts, intelligence, and adaptability make him a valuable asset—even as he struggles to balance his double life and the dangers that come with it.
Based on Anthony Horowitz’s best-selling Alex Rider series, this adaptation updates the tone for a modern audience, trading some of the original’s lighter, gadget-driven adventure for a grittier, emotionally grounded take on teenage espionage. Otto Farrant (The White Queen) takes on the lead role, supported by Vicky McClure (Line of Duty) as a no-nonsense agent and Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones) as a calculating intelligence chief. Watch it HERE.
Rogue Agent (2022)
This dramatized thriller is based on the creepy true story of Robert Freegard, a British conman who posed as an MI5 agent to manipulate, isolate, and exploit his victims over many years. Posing as an undercover operative, he convinced individuals that they were in danger from terrorist threats and coerced them into cutting off contact with their families, handing over money, and living on the run. The story explores how authority—real or fabricated—can be used as a tool of psychological control, and how trust can become a weapon in the wrong hands.
James Norton (Grantchester) delivers a disarming performance as Freegard, balancing charm and menace, while Gemma Arterton (Their Finest) plays one of his targets, whose determination to uncover the truth ultimately exposes his lies. Watch it HERE.
The Ipcress File (2022)
This six-part adaptation reimagines Len Deighton’s iconic Cold War novel for a new generation, reviving the story first brought to the screen in the 1965 film starring Michael Caine. Set in the early 1960s, it follows Harry Palmer, a working-class British army sergeant with a black-market past who is given the choice between prison and a job in a shady intelligence unit. Tasked with investigating the disappearance of a prominent nuclear scientist, Palmer becomes embroiled in a web of global espionage, shifting loyalties, and political subterfuge.
Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders) steps into the role of Palmer, bringing grit and vulnerability to the reluctant spy. With subtle nods to its 1960s origins, this version blends vintage spy aesthetics with contemporary pacing and character focus. Watch it HERE.
The Night Manager (2016 to Present)
A former soldier working as a luxury hotel night manager finds his quiet life upended when he's approached by intelligence agents with a dangerous mission: to infiltrate the inner circle of one of the world’s most elusive and influential arms dealers. What begins as a reluctant operation quickly becomes an intense, high-stakes game of deception, trust, and survival. Based on the bestselling novel by John le Carré, this stylish thriller takes us from Cairo to Mallorca to London, weaving together global politics, personal trauma, and the cost of loyalty.
The series features Tom Hiddleston (Loki) in the lead, Hugh Laurie (Blackadder) as the charming yet sinister arms dealer, and Olivia Colman (Broadchurch) as the intelligence officer overseeing the mission.
After nearly a decade since the original broadcast, a new season is officially in the works, with Hiddleston set to return—much to the excitement of fans of modern spy dramas. Watch early seasons HERE.
The Little Drummer Girl (2018)
In 1970s Europe, a young actress is drawn into a covert operation that blurs the lines between acting and espionage. Adapted from a John le Carré novel, this visually rich series explores identity, loyalty, and political manipulation. Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth), Alexander Skarsgård (Big Little Lies), and Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire) deliver layered performances. Watch it HERE.
Killing Eve (2018–2022)
An intelligence officer working a desk job is unexpectedly thrust into fieldwork when she begins investigating a string of high-profile assassinations across Europe. Her obsession with identifying and capturing the elusive killer leads to a complicated and unpredictable connection between the two women—one driven by duty, the other by a chaotic sense of play. As their relationship deepens, the line between hunter and target begins to blur, giving way to a cat-and-mouse dynamic that is both thrilling and emotionally charged.
The series quickly stood out for its unconventional approach to the spy genre, blending psychological drama, sharp wit, and bursts of stylized violence. Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy) plays the determined and increasingly conflicted officer, while Jodie Comer (Help) brings volatility and charisma to the role of the assassin. Watch it HERE.
Cambridge Spies (2003)
This four-part drama is based on the true story of the infamous Cambridge spy ring, a group of British intelligence officers who secretly passed information to the Soviet Union during and after World War II. The series traces the early lives, friendships, and eventual betrayals of Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, and Anthony Blunt—former Cambridge students who rose to influential positions within British intelligence before being unmasked as Soviet agents.
Tom Hollander (Rev.), Samuel West (Mr Selfridge), Rupert Penry-Jones (Whitechapel), and Toby Stephens (Vexed) portray the four leads. Watch it HERE.
Black Doves (2024)
Set against the festive backdrop of London during the Christmas season, this six-part spy thriller introduces Helen Webb (Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game), a woman who leads a double life as both the devoted wife of the UK's Secretary of State for Defence and a covert operative for a clandestine espionage organization known as the Black Doves. When her secret lover, Jason Davies (Andrew Koji), is assassinated, Helen's carefully constructed world begins to unravel. To protect her and uncover the truth behind Jason's death, her enigmatic handler Reed, played by Sarah Lancashire (Happy Valley), enlists the help of Sam Young (Ben Whishaw, London Spy), a former assassin and Helen's old friend.
As Helen and Sam move deeper into the investigation, they uncover a shadowy web of political intrigue, criminal underworld connections, and personal betrayals that threaten not only their lives but also the stability of international relations. Watch it on Netflix.
A Spy Among Friends (2022)
Based on the nonfiction book by Ben Macintyre, this limited series dramatises the real-life friendship and betrayal between British intelligence officer Nicholas Elliott and notorious double agent Kim Philby. Set during the height of the Cold War, the story explores the personal fallout and institutional damage caused when Philby was exposed as a longtime Soviet spy embedded in MI6.
Damian Lewis (Homeland) stars as Elliott, with Guy Pearce (Mare of Easttown) as the charismatic and duplicitous Philby. Anna Maxwell Martin (Line of Duty) plays an MI5 officer assigned to uncover the truth behind their relationship. Watch it HERE.
Signora Volpe (2022– )
Though not a traditional spy drama like some of the others on this list, this light mystery-drama follows a former British intelligence officer who relocates to Italy for a mid-life fresh start but quickly finds herself drawn back into the world of investigation. Set in the scenic Umbrian countryside, the series blends elements of cozy crime with hints of espionage from Fox's past life in MI6. Emilia Fox (Silent Witness) stars as Sylvia Fox, supported by Giovanni Cirfiera (American Crime Story) and Tara Fitzgerald (Waking the Dead). Watch it HERE.
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