Spooks

Tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, and the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid.

Spooks (2002-2011) is a British national-television spy thriller series created by David Wolstencroft for BBC One. Peter Firth plays Harry Pearce, the steady head of a team of MI5 officers based at Thames House, where the group works in a secure suite known as The Grid. Around him, Nicola Walker, Rupert Penry-Jones, Keeley Hawes and Hermione Norris play officers whose lives are repeatedly pulled into operations against terrorist cells, foreign agents and domestic plots. The engine of the show is the race against the clock: each episode is built around a threat that must be identified and stopped before it reaches the public, and the cost of every decision falls on the people making it. Across ten seasons it runs as one continuing, serialized saga, with seasons of six to ten episodes that escalate both the stakes and the personal entanglements of the team. The mood is taut and paranoid, with brisk pacing, shadowy offices and a steady dread that rarely lets up. Set in early twenty-first century London, it sits in the tradition of a British state-security drama and will appeal to fans of Alias, 24 and Line of Duty who want a demanding, morally grey thriller.

Acclaimed by audiences as a tense, intelligent British spy drama whose later seasons grew markedly stronger.

• Aliasbritish espionage procedural, ticking clock tension, team of security officers
• 24intelligence agency thriller, political stakes, serialized threat arcs
• Line of Dutybritish security service drama, tense state-protection stories, ensemble of officers
• Homelandgovernment intelligence drama, moral compromise, serialized conspiracy

Created by

David Wolstencroft

Release Date

2002-05-13

Episode runtime

60 min

Rating

8.3 / 10 (154)

What is Spooks about?

A tense British drama following a team of MI5 officers in The Grid at Thames House as they race to protect the nation from threats.

What is Spooks like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Spooks as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.

Is Spooks violent?

Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Spooks as moderate.

What did critics think of Spooks?

Acclaimed by audiences as a tense, intelligent British spy drama whose later seasons grew markedly stronger.

Which shows are like Spooks?

Shows with a similar feel include Alias, 24, Line of Duty, and Homeland.

How long is Spooks?

Spooks: 10 seasons, 86 episodes.

Is Spooks still running?

No, Spooks has ended.

Where can I watch Spooks?

In United States, Spooks streams on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Britbox Apple TV channel, The Roku Channel, BritBox, Pluto TV, BritBox Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus, Tubi TV, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads, Amazon MX Player, Philo, Fawesome.