Saagar Kote
Netflix’s ‘FUBAR’ follows the lives of Luke Brunner (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Emma Brunner (Monica Barbaro). Luke is a senior CIA agent nearing the end of his days with the agency. Emma, on the other hand, secretly works for the same agency without her father’s knowledge. Their secrets are exposed when they come face to face during a mission. Finding out that their lives and careers are built on lies and mystery, the two must navigate the dangerous world of spycraft while handling the complexities of their relationship as father and daughter.
The action comedy created by Nick Santora explores the various facets of the espionage world while being grounded in real human emotions. The complexities of the parent-child bond, the art of deception, work-life balance in dangerous professions, and trust are the themes navigated in the narrative. Luke’s old school style and values come into conflict with Emma’s modern sensibilities. If you have found the tone and ideas of the show enjoyable, here are shows like ‘FUBAR’ you will find engaging and meaningful.
10. Chuck (2007-2012)
‘Chuck’ centers around Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi), an underachieving boy who works as a computer expert for Buy More. His boring life turns chaotic when he accidentally opens an email sent to him by a friend named Bryce Larkin. When he opens it, he sees a series of pictures called The Intersect, which contain all the vital secrets of the government. The Intersect is an entity that works like a computer mind, imprinting all the data onto Chuck’s mind, making him the most important asset in the spy world. Following this, the CIA and NSA both appoint a top agent from their organizations to keep Chuck safe. They also have to ensure that Chuck’s secret is kept safe from his family and friends while involving him in spycraft. Featuring moments of threats, secret missions, and team-ups, the Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz creation tackles ideas like secrets, dual identities, and relationships in a world of threats. While ‘FUBAR’ deals with these themes from a father-daughter angle in the world of spies and mysteries, ‘Chuck’ does the same with friends and total strangers who come together in situations that demand them to. Both shows also have a genre connection in terms of the utilization of comedy as a narrative instrument.
9. The Recruit (2022-2025)
Created by Alexi Hawley, ‘The Recruit’ follows an inexperienced CIA lawyer named Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo). He comes into contact with an Eastern European asset named Max Meladze (Laura Haddock), who threatens extortion if she is not freed from jail. His life takes a turn for the worse when it is revealed that she has a long-term connection to the agency. He gets trapped in the tricky world of international politics and finds himself in a game of deceit with sinister individuals and groups. While battling for his own life, Owen must also fulfill his missions. Like ‘FUBAR,’ the action thriller show engages with morally challenging ideas like loyalty and betrayal. Though the father-daughter show mainly focuses on familial complications in the world of espionage and politics, it complements ‘The Recruit’ as both thrillers are grounded in emotional truths, and the real human side of the sinister world of spycraft.
8. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (2018-2023)
‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan’ is an action thriller that focuses on CIA analyst Jack Ryan (John Krasinski), as he navigates the world of spies, terrorists, and enemies. The Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland creation is based on Tom Clancy’s eponymous novels. In each season of the show, the protagonist takes on a different mission that has dangerous consequences. Season one features a storyline about religious terrorism and financial networks, the second season contains political conflicts in Venezuela, the third season navigates a complex Russian secret, and the final season deals with drug cartels in a foreign country. It delves into concepts of loyalty, personal lives of spies, love, and trust, narrated in unique ways. In ‘FUBAR,’ we see a father and daughter facing turbulence in their relationship due to the outing of secrets, similarly to the Ryanverse, which also deals with the difficulties involved in the maintenance of secrets and the cost of them not remaining hidden. Both shows delve into these emotional aspects in myriad ways that challenge the viewer’s perspectives.
7. The Terminal List (2022-)
‘The Terminal List’ is an action thriller featuring the life of James Reece (Chris Pratt), who returns home under mysterious circumstances after his whole team of Navy SEALs is attacked. Once home, he uncovers a greater conspiracy against him and his loved ones, but has conflicting memories of the attack. While navigating new threats, he must also figure out who betrayed his platoon and why. The David DiGlio creation is based on the eponymous novel by Jack Carr, who also serves as co-creator. The narrative contains depictions of memory loss, confusion, and guilt. Akin to ‘FUBAR,’ it delves into ideas such as family, trust, betrayal, revenge, and redemption in a conspiring world of tricks and secrecy. However, what stands out are the differences in narrative styles in both shows, despite them dealing with similar themes. While the Netflix show offers a brighter and funny take on serious issues, the Chris Pratt starrer offers a bleak and sombre variation.
6. Burn Notice (2007-2013)
The Matt Nix creation titled ‘Burn Notice’ is a mystery spy drama series that revolves around Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan), a covert US agent who gets ‘burned’ when he is on a foreign mission in Nigeria. When spies are compromised or seen as unreliable, they are given a ‘burn notice,’ which is a forced suspension from the organization they are working for. His assets are frozen without any justification or reasoning. His identity is taken away, and he is abandoned in his hometown without any knowledge of who led him to this scenario. Stuck in this situation, Michael uses his espionage skills to carry out private investigations and missions to help citizens in trouble, all while trying to find out who betrayed him and why. The show deals with concepts such as identity, trust, family bonds, and survival. In ways strikingly resembling ‘FUBAR,’ the drama examines these concepts in a grounded way, despite the cinematic nature of sequences. The shows offer analogous messages on the questions they deal with, while utilizing the dynamism of the genre in complementary ways.
5. Citadel (2023-)
‘Citadel’ centers around the intertwining lives of two agents of a global independent spy agency called Citadel. Mason Kane and Nadia Sinh’s memories are wiped clean after they narrowly survive a dangerous mission. They have remained hidden since the incident and moved on with their lives, oblivious to their pasts. However, Mason is traced by his former colleague from the agency, Bernard Orlick, who desperately needs his help to prevent Manticore, a rival global organization, from attaining global dominance. Mason attempts to track down his former partner, Nadia, to go on a globe-trotting adventure to stop Manticore, all while navigating their past relationship. Created by Josh Appelbaum, Bryan Oh, and David Weil, the action spy thriller akin to ‘FUBAR’ wrestles with concepts like love, trust, the personal cost of espionage, and betrayal. Both shows essentially are over-the-top action spy thrillers centered on mysterious operations, secret agencies, and global threats, while exploring how lying and deception affect relationships.
4. The Night Agent (2023-)
In ‘The Night Agent,’ a year after saving countless people from a bombing on the DC Metro, FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) finds himself working for White House Chief of Staff Diane Farr. His only job is to man a secret phone in the basement of the White House. It is a line that is used by the secretive Night Agent program. The phone is never expected to ring, but when it does, it leads the protagonist into the murky world of secrets, spies, and double crossings. In partnership with Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan), a genius computer coder who is also under threat from the same enemies, Peter must achieve his objectives. As opposed to the light-hearted approach of ‘FUBAR,’ this Shawn Ryan creation, based on the eponymous novel by Matthew Quirk, contains a more grounded and dark narrative exploring analogous ideas like secrets, spycraft, and personal feelings getting in the way of professional duties. In both shows, the main characters are pulled into a web of hidden plans and dangerous enemies while raising the emotional stakes for the viewers.
3. Hanna (2019-2021)
‘Hanna’ is a David Farr creation that centers around a young girl named Hanna (Esme Creed-Miles), raised in a forest in Poland by Erik Heller (Joel Kinnaman), an ex-CIA operative. Trained in survival skills, she is pursued by another CIA agent. While evading this relentless chase, she must unravel the secrets of her past and her identity. Based on the eponymous film, this suspenseful thriller series follows the trials and tribulations of the protagonist as she tries to survive the deadly world of secrets and mistrust. The narrative explores the challenges of identity, liberty, and responsibility in a world of conflict and coercion. The father-daughter bond is an important element of the narrative that closely connects it to ‘FUBAR.’ Both shows reveal how a parent’s presence in the world of espionage damages their child’s trust and can have a lasting emotional effect. Hanna and Emma are young female operatives who carry the weight of their relationships in their professional lives.
2. Alex Rider (2020 – 2024)
‘Alex Rider’ follows an ordinary teenage boy named Alex Rider (Otto Farrant), recruited by MI6. Based on the eponymous book series by Anthony Horowitz, this Guy Burt creation deals with the protagonist’s emotions as he learns that he has been unknowingly trained for the spy world ever since he was a kid. After assuming a new identity, he goes undercover in an isolated boarding school called Point Blanc, situated near the French Alps. While living his assumed identity, the protagonist discovers that the students of the school are under threat by an individual who must be stopped at any cost. In ways like ‘FUBAR,’ the mystery delves into the complexities of identity, espionage, trust, and personal life in a convoluted world. Both shows feature global missions, advanced surveillance, and plotlines dealing with worldwide implications that challenge the survival of the lead characters.
1. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2024-)
Two strangers named Michael (Donald Grover) and Alana (Maya Erskine) opt to become agents of a clandestine organization and operate undercover by posing as a married couple. Using their aliases ‘John Smith’ and ‘Jane Smith,’ they must work together in missions and use their spy skills. As the fictional couple navigate their missions across the globe, they also find mutual connection. The Francesca Sloane and Donald Glover creation is inspired by the 2005 film of the same name. Each of the episodes features a different objective that must be fulfilled. It combines romance and drama with spycraft. Within the boundaries of a spy thriller, the series comments on themes of espionage, marriage, and trust, in ways similar to ‘FUBAR.’ The shows combine action scenes with comedy and emotional character storylines that captivate the viewers. While the husband-wife drama is slightly more grounded compared to the father-daughter one, they both feature the conflict between love and espionage.
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