Conspiracy

Conspiracies are great storytelling assets. There are bastards, betrayals galore, and heroes who engage in a David vs. Goliath battle. There’s no shortage of action, and the secret adds a touch of interest to the plots.

What’s worse, there’s no shortage of conspiracies in real life! When the stakes (financial or in terms of power) are so high that human life doesn’t count for much, certain players are ready to pull out all the stops to achieve their goals.

The series simply exploit this terrain. They often struggle to avoid the pitfall of Manichaeism (Prison Break, the Night Agent). They become fascinating when the script maintains a level of complexity that echoes that of conspiracies (Secret City). My favorite series are in bold.

  • Bodies / Netflix / London. 1890, 1941, 2023, 2053. Four police detectives find a body in an alley. Naked, shot through the right eye. Same alley, same body…
  • The diplomat / Netflix / Amidst a major international crisis, a newly appointed US ambassador takes up her post in London
  • The Night Agent / Netflix / Peter, an FBI agent, and Rose, whose family were secret agents, uncover a vast conspiracy and must fight for their country
  • Paranoid / Netflix / In a quiet countryside British town, a mother in stabbed to death. Her past resurfaces: she used to work for a pharmaceutical company
  • Prison break / Netflix / A story that has aged a bit, but still a strong story about brothers and prisoners escaping together, running from powerful people
  • Secret city / Netflix / In Melbourne, a journalist investigates a murder with an impact on international relations
  • And the CITADEL’s series :
  • Citadel / Amazon / Citadel, an independant agency founded to ensure peace, is destroyed by its rival. But two top-spies survive.
  • Citadel Diana / Amazon / Citadel’s spin-off, based on the Italian part of Manticore. Diana is a double agent recruited by both secret organizations.
  • Citadel, Honey Bunny : a prequel, about Nadia’s parents, two agents in India, and her childhood.
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