NoBadPicks Logo
US

Shows Like Restless

Loved Restless, can dive deeper into questions the purpose and weight of our choices while grounding the story in targets the intellect with complex, multi-layered ideas. Carefully balances character depth with narrative flow makes this a perfect follow-up for your next session.

Mood Breakdown
Runtime Cluster

Standard feature-length experiences.

Viewer Fit

Best for fans of who appreciate concise storytelling.

Top Picks

A Spy Among Friends
6.5

A Spy Among Friends

2022

Follow the defection of notorious British intelligence officer and KGB double agent, Kim Philby, through the lens of his complex relationship with MI6 colleague and close friend, Nicholas Elliott.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
7.6

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

1979

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a seven-part BBC2 spy drama written by Arthur Hopcraft, adapted from John le Carré's eponymous 1974 novel. The serial, which stars Alec Guinness, Alexander Knox, Ian Richardson, Michael Jayston, Bernard Hepton, Anthony Bate, Ian Bannen, George Sewell and Michael Aldridge, was broadcast from 10 September to 22 October 1979. George Smiley, the ageing master spy of the Cold War and once heir-apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.

X Company
7.5

X Company

2015

An emotionally-driven character drama, set in the thrilling and dangerous world of WWII espionage and covert operations. It follows the stories of five highly skilled young recruits - Canadian, American and British - torn from their ordinary lives to train as agents in an ultra-secret facility on the shores of Lake Ontario. These agents parachute behind enemy lines, where they're fair game for torture and execution. From elegant hotels to hellholes in the field, it's one risky operation after another, masterminded by the brains of Camp X.

Reilly: Ace of Spies
7.0

Reilly: Ace of Spies

1983

Reilly, Ace of Spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatising the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian Jew who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the British. Among his exploits, in the early 20th-century, were the infiltration of the German General Staff in 1917 and a near-overthrow of the Bolsheviks in 1918. His reputation with women was as legendary as his genius for espionage.

The Game
7.3

The Game

2014

"The Game" is a 1970s Cold War spy thriller set in the world of espionage. It tells the story of the invisible war fought by MI5 as it battles to protect the nation from the threats of the Cold War.

The Little Drummer Girl
7.1

The Little Drummer Girl

2018

Brilliant young actress Charlie strikes up an acquaintance with an intriguing stranger while on holiday in Greece, but it rapidly becomes apparent that his intentions are far from romantic.

Smiley's People
7.7

Smiley's People

1982

Called out of retirement to settle the affairs of a friend, Smiley finds his old organization, the Circus, so overwhelmed by political considerations that it doesn't want to know what happened. He begins to follow up the clues of his friends past days, discovering that the clues lead to a high person in the Russian Secret service, and a secret important enough to kill for.

The Night Manager
7.7

The Night Manager

2016

Former British soldier Jonathan Pine navigates the shadowy recesses of Whitehall and Washington where an unholy alliance operates between the intelligence community and the secret arms trade. To infiltrate the inner circle of lethal arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper, Pine must himself become a criminal.

More Shows Like Restless

Fleming
6.8

Fleming

2014

Set at the outbreak of WWII – mischievous playboy Ian Fleming is untroubled by the specter of impending war – chasing women, collecting rare books and living off his family fortune. Forever in the shadow of his brother Peter, and an eternal disappointment to his formidable mother Eve, Fleming dreams of becoming the ‘ultimate’ man – a hero, a lover, a brute and the one who always gets the girl. He is finally given some direction in his life when he’s recruited by the Director of Naval Intelligence to help in the effort against the Nazis. Suddenly, Fleming finds his chance to shine and prove his worth.

The Sympathizer
6.8

The Sympathizer

2024

Near the end of the Vietnam War, a spy who was embedded in the South Vietnam army flees to the United States and takes up residence in a refugee community, where he continues to gather intelligence and report back to the Viet Cong.

The Spy
7.4

The Spy

2019

In the 1960s, Israeli clerk-turned-secret agent Eli Cohen goes deep undercover inside Syria on a perilous, years-long mission to spy for Mossad.

TURN: Washington's Spies
7.1

TURN: Washington's Spies

2014

The story of New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence.

The State Within
7.4

The State Within

2006

The State Within is a six-part British television political thriller serial written and created by Lizzie Mickery and Daniel Percival, broadcast on BBC One from 2 November to 7 December 2006. After a plane explodes over Washington DC, panic begins to envelop the British embassy, and its ambassador to Washington, Mark Brydon, finds himself caught in a potentially damaging diplomatic incident.

Slow Horses
8.0

Slow Horses

2022

Follow a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world's smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.

Traitors
6.3

Traitors

2019

1945 London. Feef is seduced by a rogue American spy into spying on her own country. Her task? To uncover a Russian agent in the heart of the British Government.

Citadel
6.8

Citadel

2023

What if you lost your memory? What if a spy didn’t know they were a spy? Years ago, the top agents of Citadel, Mason Kane and Nadia Sinh, had their minds wiped. But, they’re called back to action as sinister forces emerge from the past. With the help of spymaster Bernard Orlick, these former lovers must remember the past to save the future.

Spooks
7.7

Spooks

2002

Tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, and the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid.

Treason
6.8

Treason

2022

An MI6 deputy's bright future takes a sharp turn after a reunion with a Russian spy forces him to question his entire life.

The Company
7.3

The Company

2007

The Company tells the thrilling story of Cold War CIA agents imprisoned in double lives, fighting an amoral, elusive, formidable enemy – and each other – in an internecine battle within the Company itself.

The Bourne Identity
6.5

The Bourne Identity

1988

Wounded to the brink of death and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne is rescued at sea by a fisherman. With nothing to go on but a Swiss bank account number, he starts to reconstruct his life, but finds that many people he encounters want him dead. However, Bourne realizes that he has the combat and mental skills of a world-class spy—but who does he work for?

Why These Shows Are Similar

These recommendations share core qualities with Restless (2012): Drama and War & Politics themes, similar pacing, and comparable production quality. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface series most likely to resonate with fans of Restless.

See full details for Restless (2012)

Explore Similar Stories