Secret Service & 6 More Political Thriller TV Series To Stream Next
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1 hour ago
These series will have you gripped
A new political thriller will kick off on ITV1 this evening and – featuring Russian moles and fearsome surveillance – it feels as timely as ever. Based on the 2019 novel by longstanding ITV News anchor Tom Bradby, Secret Service centres on Kate Henderson, head of the Russia desk at MI6, who must act on new intel that reaches right into the heart of government.
With all episodes streaming now on ITVX, it’s just one of a roster of gripping political thrillers that have landed on the small screen recently. Here are six more.
Best Political Thriller TV Series & Where To Stream Them
Secret Service (2026)
Based on Tom Bradby’s 2019 novel of the same name, Secret Service delves into tensions that feel both timely and longstanding: surveillance, spies, Russian moles, and the instability of the British government. We centre on Kate Henderson (Gemma Arterton), a spook in charge of the Russia desk at MI6, who uncovers some explosive intel: a senior British politician is about to resign, and the Russians have an asset in pole position, ready to step up and take his place. When Kate takes the intel to her boss, he is cautious – but then everything falls into place. The Prime Minister calls a press conference to announce he has cancer and will be stepping down, naming two candidates in line to replace him: Foreign Secretary Ryan Walker and Home Secretary Imogen Conrad. But who is the mole?
Five episodes streaming on ITVX.
The Capture (2019–present)
Speaking of timely political thrillers, no television series prods and probes the collective anxieties of the British public quite like The Capture. Deepfakes, the surveillance state, Russian spies, AI, the far right, rogue soldiers – you name it, The Capture has got it. Led by Holliday Grainger as DI Rachel Carey, we centre on the Counter Terrorism Command who are tasked with untangling knotty crimes that have an implication on the state. In series 1, Rachel is pulled into a far-reaching conspiracy when she notices real-time deepfake technology is manipulating London’s famously vast surveillance network.
Three series streaming on BBC iPlayer.
Hostage (2025)
British television mainstay Suranne Jones made her Netflix debut in Hostage in summer 2025 – as the Prime Minister no less. Delving into political relations on either side of the Channel, Hostage centres on French president Vivienne Toussaint (Julie Delpy), who is the nation’s first female president and is campaigning for re-election, though her policy decisions regarding border control have proved controversial; and recently elected British prime minister Abigail Dalton (Jones) whose popularity is being threatened by a healthcare crisis. But when Abigail’s husband is kidnapped and Vivienne is blackmailed, both are faced with grave choices and forced into a fierce rivalry, with not just their careers hanging in the balance, but their lives, too. Can they work together to uncover the plot threatening them both?
Five episodes streaming on Netflix.
The Diplomat (2023–present)
Straddling a different body of water, this time the Atlantic Ocean, The Diplomat is widely praised for its detailed and nuanced portrayal of foreign policy and the oft-invisible work of diplomats. We centre on Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), the newly appointed US Ambassador to the UK who immediately has an international crisis on her hands. Backdropped by London’s glitzy Winfield House, the official residence of the US ambassador, Kate is joined in London by her former high-powered ambassador of a husband Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), and as an international crisis unfolds, The Diplomat also delves into their deteriorating marriage.
Three seasons streaming on Netflix.
Bodyguard (2018)
From Bodyguard, Jed Mercurio’s pulse-racing political thriller, comes a story that feels ripped from the front pages: terrorism, state power, PTSD, and the uneasy balance between protection and paranoia. At the centre is war veteran turned Specialist Protection Officer David Budd (Richard Madden), who is tasked with guarding formidable Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes) whose hardline stance on security legislation makes her as divisive as she is powerful. After foiling a suicide bombing on a London train, Budd is thrust into Montague’s inner circle, where political ambition and personal loyalty begin to blur. But as threats multiply and Budd’s own past starts to fracture his grip, a chilling question surfaces: is he protecting the state, or being used by it?
Six episodes streaming on Netflix.
Homeland (2011–2020)
A classic of the genre, Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon’s nerve-shredding espionage drama Homeland rewrote the rules of political thrillers when it aired across the 2010s, introducing a psychological instability into the mix. It is a story steeped in post-9/11 unease: counterterrorism, intelligence failures, radicalisation, and the psychological toll of living in a permanent state of alert. We centre on Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), a brilliant but volatile CIA officer who becomes convinced that a recently rescued U.S. Marine, Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) may not be the war hero he appears. As Carrie pursues her hunch with increasing intensity, often at great personal cost, the lines between intuition and obsession begin to blur. Is Brody a traumatised patriot… Or a sleeper agent hiding in plain sight?
Eight seasons streaming on Channel 4.
Anatomy of a Scandal (2022)
Like The Diplomat, original Netflix drama Anatomy of a Scandal straddles the Atlantic, picking apart privilege, power, and consent with surgical precision, all backdropped by the hallowed halls of Westminster. At the heart of the storm is James Whitehouse (Rupert Friend), a charismatic MP and government minister whose polished life begins to crack when he is accused of a shocking crime by a colleague. His wife, Sophie (Sienna Miller), clings to the version of her husband she believes she knows, even as the case threatens to unravel everything around her.
Six episodes streaming on Netflix.
