‘The baddies reflect the worries of today’: Why TV spy thrillers are booming right now

Joseph Oldham, lecturer in communication and media at the British University in Egypt, and author of the 2017 book Paranoid Visions: Spies, Conspiracies, and the Secret StateHe tells the BBC that there are similarities between the current boom in spy thrillers and other eras in which the genre particularly flourished, such as the period leading up to World War I, before World War II, and the early Cold War. “I think what these moments in history have in common with each other, and indeed with our current moment, is a background sense of major geopolitical tensions between major world powers spiraling out of control, either with war immediately looming or with the threat of war.” The end of the world constantly hangs in the background, with tensions turning into proxy wars and espionage.

People’s levels of suspicion of those around them are also high – A Oxford University study It found that 27% of respondents believed there was a conspiracy against them – and conspiracies are a recurring theme in this new crop of shows, such as The Night Agent – ​​not, incidentally, to be confused with le Carré’s The Night Manager, which is set for a second and third series after Almost a decade since the 2016 Emmy Award-winning BBC adaptation.

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Netflix’s The Night Agent is a paranoid thriller centered on the White House, where the call comes from inside the house, to borrow from horror movie parlance. Adapted from the novel by Matthew Quirk, the first season saw low-ranking FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) working to uncover who in the presidential office was behind a planned “terrorist” bomb on the subway, and the second series put him on the run. When the information he obtained from a mission is compromised due to a leak at the CIA. Meanwhile the main goal – includes White lotusLeo Woodall as mathematician Edward Brooks – Features similar machinations, when Edward finds himself pursued by unknown evil forces after coming close to finding a pattern in prime numbers that holds the key to every computer in the world.

But from a psychological perspective, people can be drawn to such shows because of the reassurance they ultimately offer, piercing the ambiguity of geopolitics to reveal the real villains, and ultimately clarifying who is “good” and “bad.” “Spy dramas appeal because of the escape and adrenaline rush they provide, along with the fun of following the hero’s journey, but an important element is how we satisfy our strong desire to solve mystery and uncertainty. And when we do that, the reward systems in our brains Chartered British Psychological Society and Filmmaker: “Shows also stimulate our curiosity about the unknown and the forbidden, but in an increasingly complex and polarized world, they also allow us to safely navigate – and seek to understand – issues of importance.” National and international.”

How is this genre rocked?

That’s not to say that today’s spyware doesn’t sometimes find a funny side to spying, too. While 2000s secret service thrillers like Spooks, Homeland, and 24 played the drama seriously, some contemporary spy series like Killing EveMr. & Mrs. Smith and the Black Doves felt very different in tone and tone, featuring a fresh irreverence, self-deprecating characters, and a dark sense of humor not typically found in this type of television, which seemed geared toward a younger audience.