10 Best Shows Like The Recruit

Several CIA-oriented action thrillers like The Recruit are available to stream across various platforms. Following the season 2 finale of The Recruit, which was notably only six episodes compared to season 1's eight, viewers will likely be looking for other comparable series to watch next. The Recruit season 2 found Noah Centineo's CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks in the middle of another graymail situation, which leads him yet again into a dangerous international conflict following The Recruit season 1 finale's cliffhanger ending.

Series like The Recruit may seem quite common but truly successful shows in the action-thriller genres are much harder to come by.The Recruit's blend of comedy, espionage, and romance creates an addictive blend of subgenres enhanced by an outstanding cast. This gives everyone something to enjoy about The Recruit, whether it be Owen's various love interests or the intense CIA missions and threats that emerge throughout. The Recruit's 78% Rotten Tomatoes score proves that it's one of the best original spy thrillers on the platform, setting up the likelihood of The Recruit season 3.

10 The Night Agent

Streaming on Netflix

The Night Agent is right next to The Recruit as one of the best action-thriller series on Netflix. Even though The Night Agent season 1 premiered months after The Recruit season 1, season 2 was released just weeks before The Recruit season 2 in January 2025, making them the perfect action-thriller Netflix companion pieces. The Night Agent stars Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland, who starts as a low-level FBI agent working at the White House until he becomes involved in a conspiracy that leads him directly to the Oval Office.

While The Recruit focuses on the CIA and The Night Agent is centered around the FBI, both series follow similar structures of political thrillers that make them uniquely different but similar enough to inspire crossover fans. WithThe Night Agent and The Recruit holding the number 2 and 3 spots on Netflix at the time of writing, it's clear that they are meant to be side-by-side counterparts appealing to the same audience.

9 Bodyguard

Streaming on Netflix

Bodyguard is one of the best conspiracy thrillers available on Netflix. Starring Richard Madden and Sophie Rundle, Bodyguard tells a gripping story of survival fueled by political intrigue and the persistent threat of danger via terrorism. Like Owen in The Recruit, Richard Madden's David Budd finds himself thick in the web of a politically charged conflict in The Night Agent that forces him to choose between his values and his sense of duty.

Released in 2018, Bodyguard received an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for two Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. While there has long been speculation about aBodyguard season 2, nothing has been confirmed. Creator Jed Mercurio has also written other great police procedurals, like Line of Duty.

8 Reacher

Streaming on Prime Video

Based on the books by Lee Child, Reacher is one of the most popular streaming series not only on Prime Video but on all streaming platforms. Reacher helped catapult Alan Ritchson to fame as the titular Jack Reacher, a former military policeman who solves crimes and employs his own brand of vigilante justice. Reacher is celebrated for its highly-bingeable story and outstanding leading performance from Ritchson, who feels like he was born to play the part.

With Reacher season 3 just around the corner with a release date of February 20, 2025, now is the perfect time to catch up on Reacher seasons 1 and 2 or to start the series for those who haven't had the chance yet. Reacher is more of a one-man army type of protagonist, while Owen constantly stumbles into predicaments only to magically get let off the hook every time in The Recruit. While the characters are quite different, there's something equally compelling about each of the action thriller series.

7 Lioness

Streaming on Paramount+

Lioness is one of multiple Taylor Sheridan shows at Paramount+, which also includes the recently released popular modern Western Landman. Lioness has a more gritty and realistic tone than The Recruit and is more focused on the military and armed combat forces than the popular Netflix series. That being said, Lioness has an outstanding cat featuring Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Michael Kelly, and Morgan Freeman, and similarly portrays several CIA operatives.

For viewers who enjoyed The Recruit but may have become frustrated by some of the farfetched scenarios and unanswered questions in the series, Lioness seeks to offer a more authentic portrayal of the CIA, which makes it deeply engaging but also more dense. Since The Recruit is more action-packed and funny, viewers may find Lioness a bit too mature or serious but it is still one of the best current CIA shows out there.

6 Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan

Streaming on Prime Video

It's remarkably been seven years since Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan starring The Office's John Krasinski first premiered on Amazon Prime Video. Considered a sort-of genre precursor to Reacher's success, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan is an adaptation of the classic novels by the celebrated author Tom Clancy. Krasinski delivers a career-altering performance as Jack Ryan, a CIA operative whose intelligence and earnestness, like Owen Hendricks in The Recruit, gets him into hot water.

For fans of The Recruit who haven't seen Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan yet, all four seasons are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, meaning viewers won't have to wait years at a time to see what happens next. Similar to Owen, Jack Ryan starts behind the desk at the CIA but is thrown into the field for essentially being too smart for his own good.

5 The Agency

Streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime

All ten episodes of The Agency starring Michael Fassbender are now available to stream on Paramount+ with Showtime. The series is tonally and narratively opposite to The Recruit, aimed at an older demographic and packed with so much exposition and contextual information that viewers may have to take notes to keep up with its plot. That being said, The Agency is intensely gripping, mostly due to Fassbender's stunning performance as Martian, a seasoned CIA operative pulled out of a mission to help find a compromised agent.

Fassbender is joined by a stellar cast in The Agency, which includes Richard Gere, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, Katherine Waterson, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, and John Magaro. Fassbender gives one of his career-best performances on the heels of David Fincher's The Killer, which is reason enough to check out the no-nonsense high-concept CIA series.

4 Paradise

Streaming on Hulu

Paradise is a newly released political conspiracy thriller now streaming on Hulu. Released just two days before The Recruit season 2, Paradise made its series debut on January 28, 2025. Starring Sterling K. Brown and created by This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman, Paradise blends political drama with futuristic sci-fi similar to the popular Apple series Silo. Brown plays Xavier, a Secret Service member who is sworn to protect the United States President, played by James Marsden.

The 8-part Paradise releases new episodes every Tuesday, exclusively on Hulu. Its season 1 finale will be released on March 4, 2025. While not so much of a CIA thriller as The Recruit is, Paradise offers more of an intellectual investigation into a post-apocalyptic "paradise" following a cataclysmic, world-ending event. Similar to series like Westword, part of the intrigue of Paradise is discovering the futuristic story world and figuring out how it operates.

3 Prime Target

Streaming on Apple TV+

Prime Target is a conspiracy mystery series that draws comparisons to heady thrillers such as Sherlock. While not intertwined in the world of elite government agencies and espionage groups, Prime Target offers a complex and intriguing premise that is wrapped in a major international conspiracy rooted in world-class academia. Although Prime Target doesn't have the best reviews, it's still enjoyable to watch another rising actor, Leo Woodall, in a sophisticated leading role.

Despite the mixed reception, Prime Target tells a compelling story that offers a lot of suspense and unexpected twists, similar to The Recruit. It's not a perfect series, and neither is The Recruit, which makes them more or less in the same category of action thriller. Prime Target leaves viewers with lots to think about even if it doesn't wrap up all of its loose ends.

2 Black Doves

Streaming on Netflix

Keira Knightley leads a stellar cast in Black Doves, which combines MI5 and CIA agents along with a covert agency known as the Black Doves. Knightley's Helen Webb feels like a character written specifically with its lead actress in mind, showcasing her signature charm while giving her ample opportunities to kick some a** as well. Supported by Ben Whishaw, Sarah Lancashire, and Andrew Buchan, Knightley made Black Doves one of the best new shows on Netflix in late 2024.

The Black Doves are a group of spies who don't work for any particular agency or nation but rather for the highest bidder. Knightley's Helen Webb is assigned to gather intel on her husband, Buchan's Wallace Webb, which Lancashire's Reed then sells to various officials, even those that may be considered enemies of the United Kingdom and the United States. It's one of Knightley's most infectious and fun roles in recent years.

1 The Diplomat

Streaming on Netflix

Even though The Recruit has become quite popular on Netflix, The Diplomat remains the streaming platform's most prestigious political drama that is currently in its rotation. Starring Keri Russell as U.S. Ambassador Kate Wyler, The Diplomat follows Kate as she tries to maintain peaceful negotiations with a hotheaded Prime Minister, Nicol Trowbridge, who may be up to foul play. Russell delivers a grounded performance despite the political scale of the series, making it one of her best career roles.

With The Diplomat season 3 already on the way in 2025, it's a great option for a quick binge that exists in the realm of The Recruit. While not necessarily focused on spycraft or the CIA, The Diplomat digs into the formal positions of the executive branch, portraying Presidents, Vice Presidents, and other influential government officials. Derivative of series such as The West Wing and House of Cards, The Diplomat is arguably a step above The Recruit and is the best ongoing political drama on Netflix.

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