Deep State S1

Nothing goes according to plan for the spies in action thriller Deep State. Cool, calm, collected Mark Strong (Miss Sloane) plays retired MI6 agent Max Easton who’s dragged kicking and screaming back into the game when his son Harry (Joe Dempsie) is reportedly killed.

But as he gets more involved, Max realises that there is a lot more to this story than meets the eye. By definition, a deep state is a conspiracy within the halls of government, a clandestine network with free rein to run their own projects, even if it means going against official policy. And that’s what makes Deep State addictive – the fact that what’s going on is rooted in real life.

The action is intense – guns, bombs, necks being snapped, lie upon lie. You don’t know who’s hiding around the corner ready to kidnap you and cut off your toes with bolt cutters for that all-important top-secret intel.

“Deep State is a gripping, quick ride as it rattles along, with big bangs and fabulous locations, but it is very much in the footsteps of Homeland, The Night Manager and the Bourne movies. Even the soundtrack’s ominous descending notes of doom at perilous moments are familiar,” writes Sam Wollaston from theguardian.com. “You don’t know who or what else is lurking in those shadows…”