Thriller, espionage, legal, political film/TV suggestions?

Thriller, espionage, legal, political film/TV suggestions?

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Discussion

tele_lover

Original Poster:

597 posts

22 months

Monday 2nd January 2023
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Can you guys recommend good film/programmes/shows/streams/anything in the genres of thriller, espionage, legal, political and escapism (see below).

I'm interested in any service (Prime, AppleTV, Netflix, whatever) but only productions made since 1990.

-Espionage: pretty obvious

-Thrillers: most probably fall under espionage or politics, but anything else

-Legal: things like Suits and The Good Wife.

-Politics: things like State of Play, House of Cards, West Wing and Madam Secretary.

-Escapism: I like the new Magnum PI as it's set in Hawaii, the scenery is great, characters are likeable, plots aren't the most-intricate, but it's a decent "feel good" to watch.

It used to be relatively easy keeping-up with new programmes, but now with Netflix, AppleTV, Amazon Prime, Paramount+, ITVX etc there's probably many things I've missed.

I may have seen some of the recommendations but they're still worth suggesting, as other people can use this thread too.

T1547

1,149 posts

141 months

Monday 2nd January 2023
quotequote all
Obvious suggestion: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Film version with Gary Oldman)

Perhaps less well known:

The Lives of Others

Incendies

The Secret in their Eyes (2009 version, not the later remake)



shopper150

1,576 posts

201 months

Monday 2nd January 2023
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Homeland

droopsnoot

12,667 posts

249 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
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Spooks.

normalbloke

7,714 posts

226 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
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The Americans
Bosch etc
The Lincoln Lawyer
Mr.Inbetween
Banshee
Any of the Yellowstone stuff
Better Call Saul

Elderly

3,559 posts

245 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
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Slow Horses - on Apple TV+

Collectingbrass

2,393 posts

202 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
quotequote all
The Bank Job with Jason Statham - the supposedly true story of the Baker Street Robbery in the 1970s that may or may not have had a D notice applied at the time

SAS Rogue Heros on Iplayer would probably fit the bill for escapism, as would Firefly, Iron Sky and Avenue 5 all on Amazon

The 39 Steps 2008 version with Rupert Penry-Jones is IMHO the best version of the story

The Post with Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks makes a good two hander with All The Presidents Men.

Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks tells the story of the Berlin exchange of a Soviet Spy for Gary Powers

The British Scandalpodcast would probably be right up your street too, as would the American version

Ford v Ferrari (possibly titled Le Mans 66 depending on the platform) and Rush are both good motor sport dramatisations



Edited by Collectingbrass on Tuesday 3rd January 12:52

anonymous-user

61 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
quotequote all
Homeland and The Americans (already mentioned) fit the bill nicely.

Tehran and Apple+ is good.

One that doesn’t fit into the OP’s genres/criteria, but is very good: Ozarks

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 3rd January 17:38

sly fox

2,236 posts

226 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
quotequote all
Lupin on Netflix was pretty good.
Quite gritty in places.

2 series available, next series out later on this year, supposedly summer time.

Blackbird - based on real life events regarding a serial killer, it's the very definition of suspenseful. Some great acting and cast too.

+1 for Tehran, really enjoyable, only the typical hacker character ' i can hack anything with wifi and a laptop ' spoils it.

But some of the characters are excellent especially Shaun Toub's role as an Inspector in Iran Secret services.


peterperkins

3,209 posts

249 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
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The Bill Nighy Jonny Worricker Spy series are good.

2011 Page Eight Johnny Worricker BBC TV series: The Worricker Trilogy
2014 Turks & Caicos Johnny Worricker BBC TV series: The Worricker Trilogy
2014 Salting the Battlefield Johnny Worricker BBC TV series: The Worricker Trilogy

rdjohn

6,371 posts

202 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
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I am surprised no one is proposing a Spy among Friends on ITVx.

Its not an easy watch as the timeline jumps around, chronically, but with Guy Pearce, Damien Lewis and Anna Maxwell-Martin, it has to be one of the best acted spy series ever.

And its mostly true!

QJumper

2,709 posts

33 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
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TV Series:

24
Slow Horses
The Undeclared War
Cobra
Line of Duty
The Capture
The Looming Tower
Condor
Secret City
Sleeper Cell
The Fall

Movies:

Surveillance
The Bourne Films
Traitor
The Siege
Shock and Awe
State of Play

Antony Moxey

8,835 posts

226 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
quotequote all
I’m quite liking ‘Jack Ryan’ on Prime, plus of course there’s three or four films featuring Jack Ryan too, albeit played by different actors to the TV series (Harrison Ford and I think Ben Affleck).

48k

13,990 posts

155 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
quotequote all
Line of Duty on BBC iPlayer
Treason on Netflix

Curious as to why you're only interested in productions made since 1990?

MYOB

4,999 posts

145 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
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If you like the new Magnum for the escapism, you might enjoy the recent Hawaii 5-0 series.

Easternlight

3,507 posts

151 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
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The Undeclared war
Channel 4 / allfour

tele_lover

Original Poster:

597 posts

22 months

Monday 9th January 2023
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Sorry guys, was away for a bit. Will reply

anonymous-user

61 months

Monday 9th January 2023
quotequote all
What is the significance of 'only made since 1990'?

Some of the best ever espionage thrillers have been made well before that. 'Three days of the condor' as just one example.

Punctilio

827 posts

30 months

Monday 9th January 2023
quotequote all
Lord Marylebone said:
What is the significance of 'only made since 1990'?

Some of the best ever espionage thrillers have been made well before that. 'Three days of the condor' as just one example.
Could be that the intended viewers may be traumatised by the unwoke references,
epithets, swearwords, hairstyles, fashions and fruity language common in pre 1990 films.


I think you'll find I'm not far from the truth.

Edited by Punctilio on Monday 9th January 19:56

Portofino

4,504 posts

198 months

Monday 9th January 2023
quotequote all
Operation Mincemeat, Sky Cinema, very good.