Can’t get enough of ‘Ride or Die’? Try these 4 shows next
Can’t get enough of ‘Ride or Die’? Try these 4 shows next
If the friendship, action, and jokes kept you watching, these four shows should be next on your list.
Tara and I had such a good time with “Ride or Die,” and honestly, how often do we get two funny female leads over 50 at the center of a big spy comedy? Almost never, and Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham make it look easy. Spencer plays Debbie Claybourne, who discovers her best friend Judith Burton (Waddingham) isn’t a forensic accountant after all. She’s an international assassin, and now they’re being chased across Europe because Judith’s latest hit went very wrong. The show is slick, funny, and the opening sequence feels like it dropped right out of a James Bond movie, which tracks considering Amazon MGM has creative control of the Bond franchise now. If you loved the friendship, lies, action, and watching two women realize they’re done being underestimated, these are the four spy comedies I’d watch next.
Ride or Die
Best friends Debbie and Judith are forced on the run when Debbie discovers Judith isn’t a forensic accountant, she’s an international assassin! With a mysterious figure chasing them, and Debbie’s husband involved in something deeply corrupt, it’s a race against time and a road trip across Europe to untangle the truth and stay alive.
If the relationship was your favorite part, watch: ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’
Tara and I really liked “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” because the relationship underneath the spy stuff keeps it feeling fresh. Donald Glover and Maya Erskine play two lonely strangers recruited by a mysterious agency, handed the names John and Jane Smith, and placed in an arranged marriage as their cover. They get a beautiful house and a new life, but they also have to complete dangerous missions without knowing much about each other. Each episode lines up a new assignment with another stage of their relationship, including dating, vacations, meeting other couples, discussing children, and therapy. That’s a very cool way to make the missions reveal who John and Jane actually are.
The connection to “Ride or Die” is all about trust. Debbie wonders whether Judith’s friendship was ever real, while John and Jane have to figure out whether a fake marriage can turn into a real relationship. “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is quieter, drier, and much more romantic, with the action sometimes taking a back seat to awkward conversations and hurt feelings. The show isn’t perfect, and it can be uneven when it slows down too much, but Glover and Erskine have great chemistry. Overall, it’s a fun watch and the closest match if the personal side of Debbie and Judith’s story grabbed you.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Meet the Smiths: two lonely strangers, John and Jane, who have given up their lives and identities to be thrown together as partners – both in espionage and in marriage.
Go bigger and goofier with: ‘FUBAR’
There may not be a more literal “someone I love has secretly been a spy this whole time” follow-up than “FUBAR.” Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Luke Brunner, a longtime CIA operative who’s finally ready to retire and win back his ex-wife, Tally. Then he’s sent on one last mission to rescue an agent working undercover inside arms dealer Boro Polonia’s organization. That agent turns out to be Luke’s daughter Emma, played by Monica Barbaro, who has also been lying to the entire family about her real job. Luke and Emma are both furious, both extremely stubborn, and now somehow expected to work together.
Like Debbie and Judith in “Ride or Die,” Luke and Emma don’t get a quiet evening to process the betrayal. They have to argue about it between shootouts, undercover operations, and family emergencies. “FUBAR” is much broader and cheesier, with more gadgets, explosions, Arnold jokes, and a full CIA team that includes Barry, Roo, and Aldon. It also trades female friendship for a father-daughter relationship where Emma is every bit as capable as Luke, even if he refuses to admit it. If you loved the secret-identity reveal and want an even sillier version of loved ones fighting through spy missions, this is the one.
FUBAR
When a father and daughter discover they both secretly work for the CIA, their high-stakes missions get tangled up with awkward family dynamics.
Want something darker? Try: ‘Killing Eve’
Things get a lot more dangerous in “Killing Eve.” Sandra Oh plays Eve Polastri, a bored MI5 security officer who’s convinced that a string of murders is the work of a female assassin… and she’s right. Jodie Comer plays Villanelle, a stylish killer who travels across Europe completing assignments for a secret organization called the Twelve. Intelligence officer Carolyn Martens recruits Eve to help track Villanelle, but the investigation quickly stops feeling professional. Eve becomes kind of obsessed with Villanelle, Villanelle becomes obsessed right back, and their cat-and-mouse chase turns into a very strange mutual fixation (love affair?).
“Killing Eve” shares some important DNA with “Ride or Die.” Judith and Villanelle are both funny, fashionable assassins controlled by people who don’t necessarily have their best interests in mind. Debbie and Eve are both underestimated women who discover that danger makes them feel more alive than their old routines did. The big difference is that Eve and Villanelle aren’t trying to repair a healthy friendship. Their connection is darker, more romantic, and much more destructive. Season 1 especially nails the mix of shocking violence and extremely funny character moments. If Judith’s assassin life was the part you wanted more of, this is absolutely where I’d go next.
Killing Eve
A security consultant hunts for a ruthless assassin. Equally obsessed with each other, they go head to head in an epic game of cat-and-mouse.
Wildcard pick: ‘Kleo’
“Kleo” wastes no time getting weird. Jella Haase plays Kleo Straub, an assassin working off the books for East Germany’s Stasi. After completing a 1987 mission in West Berlin, Kleo is arrested by her own government on bogus charges and abandoned by everyone she trusts. She spends two years in prison, gets released when the Berlin Wall falls, and immediately starts hunting down the people who ruined her life. Her revenge mission eventually connects to a mysterious red suitcase, while West Berlin police officer Sven Petzold follows her because he’s convinced she’s the case that could finally make his career.
The big connection between “Kleo” and “Ride or Die” is the assassin who realizes the people giving the orders can’t be trusted. Kleo and Judith are both highly trained women dealing with unfinished jobs, dangerous handlers, and secrets buried in their pasts. Kleo is much more violent, surreal, and revenge-focused, though, with bold costumes, early techno, Cold War politics, and some truly ridiculous murders. If you loved Judith’s fighting skills and complicated history but want something stranger and less sentimental, Kleo is a great wildcard.
Kleo
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, a former East German spy resolves to find out who betrayed her and why — and use her lethal skills to exact revenge.
More to watch after finishing ‘Ride or Die’:
‘The Flight Attendant’ | HBO Max
The Flight Attendant
Flight attendant Cassandra Bowden wakes in her hotel room hungover from the night before in Dubai with a dead body lying next to her. Afraid to call the police, she continues her morning as if nothing happened. In New York, she is met by FBI agents who question her about her recent layover in Bangkok. Still unable to piece the night together, she begins to wonder if she could be the killer.
‘A Man on the Inside’ | Netflix
A Man on the Inside
A retired professor with a knack for snooping gets a new lease on life when a private investigator recruits him to go undercover and crack a case.
‘Archer’ | Hulu
Archer
Smart-mouthed superspy Sterling Archer and his dysfunctional team of secret agents turn dangerous missions into messy misadventures around the globe.
‘Whiskey Cavalier’ | Tubi
Whiskey Cavalier
Following an emotional breakup, tough but tender FBI super-agent Will Chase (codename: “Whiskey Cavalier”) is assigned to work with badass CIA operative Frankie Trowbridge (codename: “Fiery Tribune”). Together, they lead an inter-agency team of flawed, funny and heroic spies who periodically save the world (and each other) while navigating the rocky roads of friendship, romance and office politics.