Why spy? TV genre is perfect match for our age of paranoia

If television dramas are a reflection of society, then it is safe to say we are feeling extremely suspicious right now.

- Nadia Khomami

If television dramas are a reflection of society, then it is safe to say we are feeling extremely suspicious right now. It does not take an intelligence operative to spot the number of spy thrillers that have infiltrated TV streaming services, in what has been hailed as a golden age for the genre.

This week, season two of The Night Agent climbed to the top of Netflix's chart, while Prime Target, an espionage thriller starring Leo Woodall, became Apple TV's most-watched show. Other series, such as Black Doves and The Diplomat (Netflix), Slow Horses (Apple+), The Day of the Jackal (Sky Atlantic), and The Agency (Paramount Plus) have also been huge hits.

Their popularity speaks to our times, experts say. In an age of fraying relations between nations, the rise of big tech (and disinformation), and increasing public distrust in governments and institutions, people are looking to TV shows to help them make sense of an unstable world.

"The world feels very uncertain to a lot of people right now, and if there's one thing human beings really can't stand, it's uncertainty," said Joe Barton, the writer and creator of Black Doves, the Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw-fronted tale of spies for hire.