10 Best Shows Like The Recruit To Watch While Waiting For Season 2

For viewers seeking entertaining options while awaiting the return of The Recruit season 2, there are several thrilling shows that share qualities with the distinctive Netflix spy series created by Alexi Hawley. Blending action, comedy, and romance, The Recruit stands out for its ability to combine multiple genres into one appealing show. Centered around novice lawyer Owen Hendricks who is thrust into the world of international espionage after joining the CIA, the show evolves into an exciting globetrotting adventure. As Owen takes on a complex case, he must quickly learn to navigate internal politics and determine who to trust.

Unsure of what secrets this asset plans to expose, Owen sets off on an investigation that tests his limits as a new CIA officer. With The Recruit season 2 underway, there are a variety of series that offer thrilling plots, multidimensional characters, and sharp dialogue to entertain viewers while waiting for the Netflix drama’s return. Whether one craves more action, comedy, romance, or a mix of all three, the following shows provide engrossing stories to fill the void left behind after binging the first season of The Recruit.

10 The Rookie (2018-)

Available to stream on Hulu

For those who love The Recruit’s mix of action, comedy, and high stakes, The Rookie brings similar aspects to the table. Also created by Alexi Hawley, this police drama centers on John Nolan, a 40-year-old man who becomes an LAPD rookie cop. The Rookie brings plenty of guest cameos, as John patrols the streets of LA, appealing to those who enjoy The Recruit’s spy missions and Owen’s globetrotting adventures. Though the backdrop changes from the CIA to the LAPD, both shows feature an underestimated rookie placed in dangerous scenarios where unpredictable threats lurk around every corner.

9 Archer (2009-2023)

Available to stream on Hulu

Those looking for another humorous take on the spy genre while awaiting The Recruit season 2 may appreciate the over-the-top approach of Archer. This long-running animated series centers on Sterling Archer, an incompetent yet oddly capable spy, and his snarky colleagues at covert intelligence agency ISIS. Though Archer acts vain and reckless on missions, somehow he wins when it counts. Similarly, The Recruit’s Owen bumbles through cases as a CIA newbie, but has underlying smarts. Fans of The Recruit are bound to enjoy watching Archer’s parody and antics. Archer’s 14-season run provides entertaining perspectives on organizations tasked with espionage.

8 The Americans (2013-2018)

Available to stream on Hulu

Set during the Cold War in the 1980s, The Americans follows Elizabeth and Philip Jennings posing as a suburban American couple while secretly working for the KGB. Living a double life strains their family dynamic, similar to the internal CIA politics The Recruit’s Owen must navigate. Viewers who appreciate the risky, enigmatic nature of undercover work and complex interpersonal dynamics may find The Americans is the perfect espionage drama to binge while waiting for The Recruit’s return. Both shows offer insight into the mental toll this career takes through tensions arising on missions and in the agents’ personal lives.

7 Homeland (2011-2020)

Available to stream on Hulu

The Recruit is great at exploring the psychological toll of CIA work. Homeland also accurately focuses on high-pressure spy games. The show revolves around Carrie Mathison, a brilliant yet unstable case officer coping with bipolar disorder while trying to catch threats to national security. Similarly, The Recruit examines characters’ motivations and morality in the face of tremendous mental stress. Viewers will witness Carrie and The Recruit’s Owen struggle internally with whom to trust as they navigate complex conspiracies and obstacles that test their abilities as intelligence agents under life-or-death conditions.

6 Slow Horses (2022-)

Available to stream on Apple TV

The Recruit expertly blends dysfunction and danger within an intelligence agency, and Slow Horses follows a similar vein. The spy drama centers on a MI5 team of disgraced agents whose career blunders have landed them under the leadership of the disheveled Jackson Lamb. Similar to the internal politics Owen faces, this group must learn to cooperate despite wildly different personalities and motives. In The Recruit, danger lurks at every corner. The dysfunctional “slow horses” must figure out how to turn the tide before they lose their jobs. With bumbling protagonists, Slow Horses aptly mirrors the CIA misfits headlining The Recruit.

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5 Burn Notice (2007-2013)

Available to stream on Prime Video and Hulu

Burn Notice offers a similar thrill to The Recruit, delving into the clandestine world of espionage and exclusion. When intelligence agent Michael Westen gets burned by a sudden, mysterious dismissal from his career, he’s forced to use every covert skill he has to unravel why while defeating lethal adversaries. Echoing the themes of a novice CIA lawyer navigating confidential dangers after stumbling into a complex case, Burn Notice centers on utilizing insider intel and tactical training when an agent becomes a target himself. Packed with adrenaline-spiking action, Burn Notice examines the perilous aftermath for operatives out in the cold.

4 The Night Agent (2023-)

Available to stream on Netflix

Echoing The Recruit’s infusion of danger into a rookie intelligence officer’s career, The Night Agent propels FBI agent Peter Sutherland into conspiratorial espionage after a fateful call to the agency’s mysterious basement phone. When Peter dives into investigating the shocking claim, the story escalates into globetrotting missions targeting adversaries that jeopardize national security. Reminiscent of Owen’s first major CIA case, Peter’s life changes as he contends with enemies lurking in the shadows. Packed with unpredictable twists and high stakes for its relatable protagonists, The Night Agent offers another gripping series centered on novices rising to meet perilous challenges.

3 24 (2001-2010)

Available to stream on Hulu

Considered one of the best action thriller TV shows,24 broke ground, pioneering real-time stakes as agent Jack Bauer confronts escalating terror threats and political duplicity threatening the nation. With tension rising each hour through perpetually ticking clocks, the show mimics The Recruit’s sense of urgency and unpredictability. Beyond the plot, Bauer brings dynamic complexity to his hero role, testing his skills and morality like Owen when confronting risks and dilemmas. While 24 embraces melodrama compared to The Recruit’s grounding, it captures post-9/11 security challenges with an unmatched creative adrenaline rush that still delivers today.

2 Jack Ryan (2018-2023)

Available to stream on Prime Video

If one enjoys the high-stakes missions in The Recruit, it’ll be easy to appreciate Jack Ryan‘s depiction of CIA analyst John Krasinski tackling conspiracies and war crimes. Blending action with geopolitics, Jack Ryan offers an authentic view of intelligence operations reminiscent of The Recruit’s perception of agency politics hindering national security interests. Bringing empathy and wit to the traditional hero role, Krasinski’s dynamic character wrestles with tense diplomacy and morally gray decisions amid action sequences filmed on location. Jack Ryan immerses viewers in a gripping modern series that aims to reflect real-world tensions through meticulous production and local casting around the globe.

1 Reacher (2022-)

Available to stream on Prime Video

Modernizing the lone wolf genre with a towering protagonist, Reacher injects fresh grit into the thriller space through Alan Ritchson’s standout depiction of former military policeman Jack Reacher’s quest to unravel small-town corruption. Blending cerebral detective work with intense action sequences, the series follows The Recruit’s fusion of intellect and physicality in combating institutional duplicity. Owen and Jack both subvert underestimated hero stereotypes, sharing a moral code to defeat conspiracies threatening the vulnerable. With unexpected villains challenging conventions, Reacher shares The Recruit’s authenticity through inspired takes on character and storytelling.

The Recruit

Action

Thriller

The Recruit is a spy thriller series starring Noah Centineo and released on Netflix. Centineo will play a young lawyer at the CIA named Owen Hendricks, who “becomes enmeshed in dangerous international power politics when a former asset threatens to expose the agency.”  On Owen’s first week on the job, he stumbles upon a letter from former CIA asset Max Meladze (Laura Haddock) that explains her intent to expose critical agency information and burn agents unless she has her record cleared of a serious crime she’s been charged with. As a result, Owen will find himself at the center of the political game inside the CIA and navigate a dangerous world while trying to leave his mark on the agency.

Release Date

December 16, 2022

Cast

Noah Centineo , Laura Haddock , Aarti Mann , Colton Dunn , Fivel Stewart , Daniel Quincy Annoh , Vondie Curtis Hall , Byron Mann , Angel Parker , Kaylah Zander

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix