Best tv shows like The Americans
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI Counterintelligence agent.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: exciting, realistic, captivating, atmospheric, suspenseful, dramatic, sexy, neo noir, political, dark
Best tv shows and movies like The Americans (2013):
Similar in 80%
Allegiance (2015)
Plot Summary:
Alex O'Connor, a young idealistic CIA analyst specializing in Russian affairs, learns a shocking secret and his close-knit, affluent family is about to be split apart when it's revealed that his parents, Mark and Katya, are covert Russian spies deactivated decades ago. But today the Kremlin has re-enlisted them into service as they plan a terrorist operation inside the U.S. border that will bring America to its knees.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, suspense, interesting
Similar in 75%
Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983)
Plot Summary:
A dramatization of the missions and adventures of the greatest spy in British history.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 720 min
Plot tags: political thriller, tense, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, vintage, period drama
Similar in 81%
Covert Affairs (2010)
Plot Summary:
A young CIA operative, Annie Walker, is mysteriously summoned to headquarters for duty as a field operative. While Annie believes she's been promoted for her exceptional linguistic skills, there may be something or someone from her past that her CIA bosses are really after. Auggie Anderson is a CIA military intelligence agent who was blinded while on assignment and is Annie's guide in this world of bureaucracy, excitement and intrigue.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, heroic, detective, crime drama, political drama
Similar in 89%
Deutschland 83 (2015)
Plot Summary:
A gripping coming-of-age story set against the real culture wars and political events of Germany in the 1980s. The drama follows Martin Rauch as the 24 year-old East Germany native is pulled from the world as he knows it and sent to the West as an undercover spy for the Stasi foreign service. Hiding in plain sight in the West German army, he must gather the secrets of NATO military strategy. Everything is new, nothing is quite what it seems and everyone he encounters is harboring secrets, both political and personal.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, exciting, captivating, epic, political, action adventure
Similar in 85%
Little Nikita (1988)
Plot Summary:
Roy Parmenter is an FBI agent in San Diego; 20 years ago his partner was killed by a Soviet spy, nicknamed Scuba, still at large. Scuba is now trying to extort the Soviets; to prove he's serious, he's killing their agents one by one, including "sleepers," agents under deep cover awaiting orders. Roy interviews a high school lad, Jeff Grant, an applicant to the Air Force Academy. In a routine background check, Roy discovers that Jeff's parents are sleepers. He must see if Jeff is also a spy, confront the parents yet protect them, and catch his nemesis. Meanwhile, the Soviets have sent their own spy-catcher, the loner Karpov, to reel in Scuba. Alliances shift; it's cat and mouse.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, suspenseful, cult classic, serious, realistic, psychological, sexy, clever, brutal
Similar in 79%
Angela's Eyes (2006)
Plot Summary:
FBI agent Angela Clinton has the exceptional gift of knowing when someone is lying. She discovered this skill at age 14, when she learned her "average" American parents were actually spies. Attempting to right her parents' wrong, Angela is now working with the same agency that brought her parents down.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 397
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, realistic, detective, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
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 82%
Totems (2021)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1965 in the midst of the Cold War, Totems follows a French scientist, Francis Mareuil, as he begins working as a spy. While working for the French Secret Service and the CIA, Mareuil meets Lyudmila Goloubeva, a pianist forced to work for the KGB. A romance blossoms between them but neither can be sure what is an expression of their true feelings, and what is the fruit of political shenanigans….
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 882
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 52 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, period drama
Similar in 80%
Deception (2013)
Plot Summary:
A detective goes undercover to investigate the murder of her best friend.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, suspenseful, detective, soap opera
Similar in 78%
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 78%
The Gordin Cell (2012)
Plot Summary:
A married pair of former spies is forced to face their past when asked to surrender their son to Russian Intelligence to become a spy himself. Will he choose to betray his parents or his native country?.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 185
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Israel
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: tense, atmospheric, captivating, suspenseful, clever, serious, realistic
Similar in 81%
Legacy (2013)
Plot Summary:
Set in the 1970s London during the height of the Cold War when a young spy discovers the disturbing truth about his father's complex past. Based on Alan Judd's 2001 novel Legacy, the second in the Thoroughgood series after 1981's A Breed Of Heroes (adapted by the BBC in 1994). As the three day week, petrol rationing and industrial strife plunge Britain into a state of emergency, MI6 trainee spy Charles Thoroughgood is asked to reconnect with an old university friend, Russian diplomat Viktor Koslov, with a view to 'turning' him. Viktor has his own agenda, though, and reveals a shocking truth about Charles's own family that threatens to derail him, both personally and professionally. He is catapulted into a dangerous personal odyssey to uncover the truth but finds himself drawn into a lethal KGB plot to mount an attack within the UK. His life is further complicated by a relationship with the wife of another agent, which forces him to realise that betrayal can take many forms.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 461
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, tense, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Farewell (2009)
Plot Summary:
Engaging, emotional and riveting, FAREWELL is an intricate and highly intelligent thriller pulled from the pages of history— about an ordinary man thrust into the biggest theft of Soviet information of the Cold War. Ronald Reagan called this piece of history - largely unknown until now - “one of the most important espionage cases of the 20th century.” FAREWELL begins in 1981, after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A French businessman based in Moscow, Pierre Froment, (Guillaume Canet) makes an unlikely connection with Grigoriev (Emir Kusturica), a senior KGB officer disenchanted with what the Communist ideal has become under Brezhnev. Grigoriev begins passing Froment highly sensitive information about the Soviet spy network in the US.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, political, sincere
Similar in 90%
The Assets (2014)
Plot Summary:
1985 serves as the backdrop to the final showdown of the Cold War when Sandy and her partner Jeanne Vertefeuille vowed to find the mole that would turn out to be the most notorious traitor in US History, Aldrich Ames. Sandy is in a race against time to save the Soviet intelligence officers from being caught and killed. Living her own double life at home, this beautiful wife and mother vowed to stop at nothing until she uncovered the truth.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic, political
Similar in 78%
Revenge (2011)
Plot Summary:
When Emily Thorne moves to the Hamptons, everyone wonders about the new girl, but she knows everything about them, including what they did to her family. Years ago, they took everything from her. Now, one by one, she's going to make them pay.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 124000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: captivating, serious, soap opera, realistic, suspenseful, thrilling, exciting, deep, psychological, psychological thriller
Similar in 90%
Rogue (2013)
Plot Summary:
"Rogue" revolves around Grace, a morally and emotionally-conflicted undercover detective who is tormented by the possibility that her own actions contributed to her son’s death. Grace’s search for the truth is further complicated by her forbidden relationship with Jimmy, the crime boss who may have played a hand in the crime. A smart, complex, character-led thriller, "Rogue" explores loss, grief, identity, family bonds, second chances and redemption. Both Grace and Jimmy not only struggle with who they are, they struggle with who they want to be. Both cross the line – morally, emotionally, sexually – with devastating consequences for their own lives and those around them.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, rough, suspenseful, realistic, erotic, detective, sensual, independent film, hardboiled detective
Similar in 79%
Wiseguy (1987)
Plot Summary:
Vinnie Terranova does time in a New Jersey penitentiary to set up his undercover role as an agent for the OCB (Organized Crime Bureau) of the United States. His roots in a traditional Italian city neighborhood form the underlying dramatic base throughout the series, bringing him into conflict with his conservative mother and other family members while acting undercover as syndicate enforcer.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, atmospheric, serious, detective, sincere, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 82%
Quantico (2015)
Plot Summary:
A diverse group of recruits has arrived at the FBI Quantico Base for training. They are the best, the brightest and the most vetted, so it seems impossible that one of them is suspected of masterminding the biggest attack on New York City since 9/11.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, surprise ending, detective, exciting, captivating, disturbing, sitcom
Similar in 81%
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
Similar in 80%
Homeland (2011)
Plot Summary:
CIA officer Carrie Mathison is tops in her field despite being bipolar, which makes her volatile and unpredictable. With the help of her long-time mentor Saul Berenson, Carrie fearlessly risks everything, including her personal well-being and even sanity, at every turn.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 357000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, tense, captivating, political, detective, psychological thriller, political thriller, dramatic, thrilling
Similar in 76%
The Blacklist (2013)
Plot Summary:
Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 274000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, serious, captivating, clever, detective, disturbing, realistic, intellectual, political
Similar in 84%
Rubicon (2010)
Plot Summary:
Rubicon is an American television series that centers on an intelligence analyst at a national think tank in New York City called the American Policy Institute, who discovers that he may be working with members of a secret society that manipulates world events on a grand scale.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, atmospheric, suspenseful, political, cliffhanger, mysterious, dramatic, intelligent, spooky
Similar in 86%
Smiley's People (1982)
Plot Summary:
Called out of retirement to settle the affairs of a friend, Smiley finds his old organization, the Circus, so overwhelmed by political considerations that it doesn't want to know what happened. He begins to follow up the clues of his friends past days, discovering that the clues lead to a high person in the Russian Secret service, and a secret important enough to kill for. Smiley continues to put together the pieces a step ahead or a step behind the Russian killers.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, psychological, tense, road movie, atmospheric, sexy, thought provoking, clever
Similar in 78%
The Game (2014)
Plot Summary:
London 1972. When a defecting KGB officer, Arkady Malinov, reveals Operation Glass, a devastating Soviet plot that could change the course of the Cold War, Daddy, the head of MI5, assembles a secret team to investigate. As the Soviets awaken a list of sleeper agents all over Britain, Daddy's team must move swiftly to gain information about the plot.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 59 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, suspenseful, tense, clever, serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, period drama
Similar in 84%
The Night Manager (2016)
Plot Summary:
Former British soldier Jonathan Pine navigates the shadowy recesses of Whitehall and Washington where an unholy alliance operates between the intelligence community and the secret arms trade. To infiltrate the inner circle of lethal arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper, Pine must himself become a criminal.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 100000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 358 min
Plot tags: serious, suspense, tense, tricky, realistic, suspenseful, political, neo noir, atmospheric, intellectual
Similar in 88%
The Company (2007)
Plot Summary:
Real-life figures from the Cold War era mix with a fictional story based on a group of CIA operatives and their counterparts in the KGB, MI6, and the Mossad.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 286 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, epic, captivating, suspenseful, serious, realistic
Similar in 81%
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)
Plot Summary:
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 290 min
Plot tags: clever, talky, serious, political thriller, realistic, suspenseful, contemplative, tense, atmospheric, thought provoking
Similar in 83%
Breach (2007)
Plot Summary:
Eric O'Neill, a computer specialist who wants to be made an agent is assigned to clerk for Robert Hanssen, a senior agent with 25 years in the FBI, and to write down everything Hanssen does. O'Neill's told it's an investigation of Hanssen's sexual habits, however Hanssen is really suspected of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia for years and being responsible for the deaths of agents working for the United States.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: political thriller, tense, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, intense, clever, political, dramatic, psychological thriller
Similar in 81%
Ray Donovan (2013)
Plot Summary:
Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, Ray Donovan does the dirty work for LA's top power players, and makes their problems disappear. His father's unexpected release from prison sets off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 92000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, clever, tense, stylized, realistic, crime drama, erotic, neo noir, dramatic
Similar in 87%
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Plot Summary:
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet mole within his former colleagues at the heart of MI6.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 210000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, France, Germany, USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: suspense, clever, tense, confusing, bleak, non-linear, atmospheric, thought provoking, period piece, political