Best tv shows like Mission: Impossible
Last updated March 2024
Looking for tv shows similar to Mission: Impossible? Contribute your knowledge to lead others to tv shows and movies you've seen before that might interest them too. Facilitate widening the network of individuals proposing videos to each other. We welcome your involvement!
Plot Summary:
Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin. The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned to television for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, retaining only Graves in the cast. It later inspired a popular series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, exciting, serious, stylized, suspense, retro, action adventure, fast, cult classic
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Best tv shows and movies like Mission: Impossible (1966):
Similar in 78%
Mission: Impossible (1988)
Plot Summary:
Mission: Impossible is an American television series that chronicles the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. The show is a revival of the 1966 TV series of the same name. The only actor to return for the series as a regular cast member was Peter Graves who played Jim Phelps, although two other cast members from the original series returned as guest stars. The only other regular cast member to return for every episode was the voice of "The Tape", Bob Johnson.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 47 min
Plot tags:
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 81%
I Spy (1965)
Plot Summary:
I Spy is an American television secret-agent adventure series. It ran for three seasons on NBC from 1965 to 1968 and teamed Robert Culp as international tennis player Kelly Robinson with Bill Cosby as his trainer, Alexander Scott. The characters' travels as ostensible "tennis bums", Robinson playing talented tennis as an amateur with the wealthy in return for food and lodging, and Scott tagging along, provided a cover story concealing their roles as top agents for the Pentagon. Their real work usually kept them busy chasing villains, spies, and beautiful women. The creative forces behind the show were writers David Friedkin and Morton Fine and cinematographer Fouad Said. Together they formed Three F Productions under the aegis of Desilu Studios where the show was produced. Fine and Friedkin were co-producers and head writers, and wrote the scripts for 16 episodes, one of which Friedkin directed. Friedkin also dabbled in acting and appeared in two episodes in the first season. Actor-producer Sheldon Leonard, best known for playing gangster roles in the 1940s and '50s, was the executive producer. He also played a gangster-villain role in two episodes and appeared in a third show as himself in a humorous cameo. In addition, he directed one episode and served as occasional second-unit director throughout the series.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure
Country: USA
Duration: 51 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, witty, cynical, stylized, semi serious
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 77%
Mirror Wars: Reflection One (2005)
Plot Summary:
Mirror Wars: Reflection One is a post-cold-war thriller from the Russian point of view. Bad-guy British arms dealer Murdock (Malcolm McDowell) and numerous mercenaries and clandestine agents tries to steal a new Russian stealth fighter. Murdock is foiled by the hero, a patriotic Russian fighter-jet pilot who was recently branded a potential traitor because of his romantic fling with an alleged American ecologist. She was actually a shadowy intelligence operative before her untimely assassination in her lover's arms.
IMDB Rating: 3.0
IMDB Votes: 580
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Russia, USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: exciting, realistic, suspenseful, serious, fast
Similar in 75%
It Takes a Thief (1968)
Plot Summary:
It Takes a Thief is an American action-adventure television series that aired on ABC for two and a half seasons between January 9, 1968, and March 24, 1970. It starred veteran movie actor Robert Wagner in his television debut as sophisticated thief Alexander Mundy, who works for the U.S. government in return for his release from prison. For most of the series, Malachi Throne played Noah Bain, Mundy's boss. It was among the last of the 1960s spy television genre, although Mission: Impossible continued for several years. It Takes A Thief was inspired by, though not based upon, the 1955 Cary Grant motion picture To Catch a Thief, directed by Alfred Hitchcock; both of their titles stem from the English proverb "It takes a thief to catch a thief.".
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 51 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, vintage
Similar in 78%
The Wrecking Crew (1968)
Plot Summary:
When Count Contini attempts to destroy the world's economy by masterminding the theft of $1 billion in U.S. gold, ICE chief MacDonald summons secret agent Matt Helm to stop him.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, exciting, suspenseful, semi serious, spy comedy, technicolor, cult classic, crime thriller, spoof
Similar in 90%
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)
Plot Summary:
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement agency called U.N.C.L.E. Originally co-creator Sam Rolfe wanted to leave the meaning of U.N.C.L.E. ambiguous so it could be viewed as either referring to "Uncle Sam" or the United Nations. Concerns by the MGM Legal department about possible New York law violations for using the abbreviation "U.N." for commercial purposes resulted in the producers clarifying that U.N.C.L.E. was an acronym for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. Each episode of the television show had an "acknowledgement" credit to the U.N.C.L.E. on the end titles.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: retro, exciting, humorous, suspenseful, semi serious, fast, parody, freeze frame, homoerotic, vintage
Similar in 79%
The Champions (1968)
Plot Summary:
The Champions is a British espionage/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure series consisting of 30 episodes broadcast on the UK network ITV during 1968–1969, produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. The series was broadcast in the US on NBC, starting in summer 1968.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, eurospy
Similar in 83%
Aim High (2011)
Plot Summary:
A web series centered around a high school student with a double life as a teenage spy.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 628
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, scenic, semi serious
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 83%
My Own Worst Enemy (2008)
Plot Summary:
My Own Worst Enemy is an American television drama that aired on NBC in 2008. It premiered on October 13 and ended on December 15 after 9 episodes. The series was produced by Universal Media Studios. Jason Smilovic was the executive producer; David Semel was the director and executive producer. The final episode ended with a cliff-hanger, and the major plot lines ended without resolution. The series followed the life of American secret agent Edward Albright and his cover, Henry Spivey, who had no knowledge of his double life. Albright, played by Christian Slater, was implanted with a chip allowing his handlers to physically switch Albright's personality to that of his cover. However, in the pilot episode, there was a malfunction which caused Albright's personalities to switch at random, revealing his secret life to his alias. Henry was then thrown into the highly dangerous life of Edward, with no real way for the two to communicate except through short cell phone video messages. General Motors was a promotional sponsor of the show, and the new SUV model Chevrolet Traverse, along with the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, appeared as cars for the program's characters via a product placement agreement.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, exciting, tense, offbeat, fast
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 83%
MacGyver (1985)
Plot Summary:
MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles during seasons 1, 2 and 7, and in Vancouver during seasons 3–6. The show's final episode aired on April 25, 1992, on ABC. Episode List The show follows secret agent Angus MacGyver, played by Richard Dean Anderson, who works as a troubleshooter for the fictional Phoenix Foundation in Los Angeles and as an agent for a fictional United States government agency, the Department of External Services. Educated as a scientist, MacGyer served as a Bomb Team Technician/EOD during the Vietnam War. Resourceful and possessed of an encyclopedic knowledge of the physical sciences, he solves complex problems with everyday materials he finds at hand, along with his ever-present duct tape and Swiss Army knife. He prefers non-violent resolutions and prefers not to handle a gun, but will if necessary.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 48 min
Plot tags: realistic, exciting, serious, suspenseful, stylized, intellectual, retro, scenic, action adventure, relaxing
Similar in 84%
Killer Wave (2007)
Plot Summary:
Suddenly the US east coast is hit by a type of natural disaster formerly reserved, except after a major earthquake, for the Pacific and Indian ocean rims: tidal waves of the destructive tsunami type. Scientist and fiction author John McAdams attends a national emergency conference which concludes the phenomenon must be man-made, quite possibly abusing the findings of John's secret former Sea Lion project, but who wants to and has the means? Indeed John soon finds himself set-up for a murder and chased. Major destructions mean major contracts for construction and coastal defenses, so building tycoons like Victor Bannister certainly have a considerable interest.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 909
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 175 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, bleak, serious, exciting, captivating, disaster movie
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 76%
The Grid (2004)
Plot Summary:
A team of American and British counter-terrorists are tasked with stopping a terrorist cell who's operating on a global level.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 817
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA, Canada
Duration: 266 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 83%
The Six Million Dollar Man (1974)
Plot Summary:
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for a fictional government office known as OSI. The series is based on the Martin Caidin novel Cyborg, which was the series's proposed title during pre-production. Following three television movies aired in 1973, The Six Million Dollar Man aired on the ABC network as a regular series for five seasons from 1974 to 1978. The title role of Steve Austin was played by Lee Majors, who subsequently became a pop culture icon of the 1970s. A spin-off series, The Bionic Woman, ran from 1976-78. Several television movies featuring both eponymous characters were also produced between 1987 and 1994.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, suspenseful, retro, tense, disturbing, vintage, campy
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 75%
Charlie's Angels (1976)
Plot Summary:
Charlie's Angels is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 1976 to June 1981, producing five seasons and 110 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aaron Spelling. It plotted the adventures of three females working in a private detective agency in Los Angeles, California, and initially starred Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, and Jaclyn Smith in the leading roles. David Doyle co-starred as a sidekick to the three women and John Forsythe played the voice of their boss. Later additions to the cast included Cheryl Ladd, who entered the series in season two, Shelley Hack, in season four, and Tanya Roberts, in season five. Despite mixed reviews from critics and a reputation for merely being "Jiggle TV," the show enjoyed an astonishing popularity with audiences, and was a top ten hit for its first few seasons. Because later cast changes were not well-received and the public's taste changed, the show concluded a five-year run in the spring of 1981. The series continues to have a cult and pop culture following through syndication, DVD releases, and subsequent film remakes.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sexy, exciting, realistic, stylized, semi serious, retro, erotic, detective, vintage, telenovela
Similar in 89%
Get Smart (1965)
Plot Summary:
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show stars Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, and Edward Platt. Henry said they created the show by request of Daniel Melnick, who was a partner, along with Leonard Stern and David Susskind, of the show's production company, Talent Associates, to capitalize on "the two biggest things in the entertainment world today"—James Bond and Inspector Clouseau. Brooks said: "It's an insane combination of James Bond and Mel Brooks comedy." This is the only Mel Brooks production to feature a laugh track. The success of the show eventually spawned the follow-up films The Nude Bomb and Get Smart, Again!, as well as a 1995 revival series and a 2008 film remake. In 2010, TV Guide ranked Get Smart's opening title sequence at No. 2 on its list of TV's Top 10 Credits Sequences, as selected by readers.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Family, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sitcom, parody, spoof, retro, detective, hilarious, funny, spy comedy, exciting, humorous
Similar in 86%
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1996)
Plot Summary:
Two globetrotting private eyes with diferente styles team up, guarding their true identities at all costs from the bad guys‒and from each other.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 696
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 83%
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Plot Summary:
With computer genius Luther Stickell at his side and a beautiful thief on his mind, agent Ethan Hunt races across Australia and Spain to stop a former IMF agent from unleashing a genetically engineered biological weapon called Chimera. This mission, should Hunt choose to accept it, plunges him into the center of an international crisis of terrifying magnitude.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 371000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: exciting, sexy, heroic, stylized, suspense, romantic, intense, suspenseful, serious, realistic
Similar in 76%
Spooks (2002)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, exciting, tense, rough, suspenseful, crime drama, political, bleak, fast
Similar in 85%
The Saint (1962)
Plot Summary:
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character Simon Templar, played by Roger Moore as a suave and sophisticated Robin Hood-like adventurer. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the initial letters of his name are also an abbreviation for the word saint. When taking on an American persona, he would often use the name Sebastian Tombs. As a result of the strong performance in the US of the first two black-and-white series in first-run syndication, NBC picked up the show as a summer replacement in its evening schedule in 1966. The programme therefore ended its run with both trans-Atlantic prime time scheduling and colour episodes. It also proved popular beyond the UK and US, eventually airing in over 60 countries, and made a profit in excess of £350m for ITC. With almost 120 episodes, the programme is exceeded only by The Avengers as the most productive show of its genre produced in the UK.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: detective, serious, realistic, vintage, cult film
Similar in 90%
The Agency (2001)
Plot Summary:
The Agency is a CBS television drama that followed the inner-workings of the CIA. The series was created by Michael Frost Beckner and was executive produced by Michael Frost Beckner, Shaun Cassidy Productions and Radiant Productions in association with Universal Network Television and CBS Productions. It aired from September 27, 2001 until May 17, 2003, lasting two seasons. It featured unprecedented filming from the actual CIA headquarters. The show was controversial regarding its exploration of current international affairs and its treatment of the ethical conflicts inherent in intelligence work. Beckner's pilot script, written in March 2001, posited a re-invented CIA tasked with a "War on Terror" after Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist organization plots a lethal attack on the west. The pilot was to premiere at CIA Headquarters on September 18, 2001 and set to air on CBS September 21, 2001, however, the actual 9/11 attacks convinced the network to hold the pilot and instead air a later episode. That first episode was aired later as the third episode of the first season. The September 11, 2001 terrorist events changed the way Americans viewed topical entertainment and "The Agency", at the time, was one of the most topical offering on network television. The producers of the series quickly responded to this new American perspective on world affairs, but CBS chose to cancel the show shortly after the second season's final episode.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, cerebral, exciting, serious
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 87%
Sleeper Cell (2005)
Plot Summary:
A chilling and unflinching look at all sides of a complicated issue, focusing on an African-American Muslim who joins an Islamic sleeper terrorist cell in the United States while working undercover for the FBI.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, captivating, suspenseful, erotic, detective, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 75%
Legends (2014)
Plot Summary:
Working for the FBI's Deep Cover Operations division, Martin Odum can transform himself into a different person -- whether it's an assignment as a Serbian extremist, a corrupt Chicago police officer, a British special forces colonel, or a legendary computer hacker. But when he learns that his life, itself, may be a lie, he faces the demands of his job and a desire to solve the mystery of his identity. And given the choice between the two, Odum doesn't always make the right decision. From the producers of "Homeland," "Legends" is based on Robert Littell's award-winning book.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, realistic, detective, action adventure, gloomy
Similar in 76%
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Plot Summary:
Ethan Hunt and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks, who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt to stop him ends in an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF to be implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to disavow them. No longer being aided by the government, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks around the globe, although they might still be too late to stop a disaster.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 521000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: exciting, breathtaking, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, clever, entertaining, action adventure, stylized, action packed
Similar in 78%
Laser Mission (1989)
Plot Summary:
A CIA agent is sent to get Professor Braun before the KGB can seize him as the Prof's knowledge, together with a recently stolen diamond, could be used to make a laser cannon.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: West Germany, South Africa, USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, feel good, captivating, exciting, melancholic, cult classic, action adventure, independent film, fast
Similar in 88%
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
Plot Summary:
Ethan and team take on their most impossible mission yet, eradicating the Syndicate - an International rogue organization as highly skilled as they are, committed to destroying the IMF.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 404000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA, China
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: breathtaking, exciting, suspense, suspenseful, entertaining, sexy, scenic, serious, realistic, stylized
Similar in 83%
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Plot Summary:
When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the No. 1 suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 462000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, suspense, clever, action thriller, entertaining, action packed, tense, saga, cerebral
Similar in 76%
Nikita (2010)
Plot Summary:
Nikita will stop at nothing to expose and destroy Division, the secret U.S. agency who trained her as a spy and assassin.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, stylized, serious, realistic, thrilling, interesting
Similar in 79%
Alias (2001)
Plot Summary:
Sydney Bristow, an agent who has been tricked to believe she is working for the U.S. government, is actually working for a criminal organization named the Alliance of Twelve. Upon learning this, Sydney becomes a double agent for the real CIA.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 54000
Genere: Action, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, captivating, cliffhanger, heroic, detective, action thriller, action adventure, thrilling, stylized
Similar in 90%
Intelligence (2014)
Plot Summary:
A drama centered on a high-tech intelligence operative who is enhanced with a super-computer microchip in his brain, and the director of the elite government cyber-security agency who supports him.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, tense, captivating, suspense, detective, stylized
Similar in 88%
24 (2001)
Plot Summary:
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 195000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: exciting, cliffhanger, serious, stylized, realistic, suspenseful, rough, suspense, dramatic, crime drama