The Recruit (American TV series)

The Recruitis an Americanspyadventuretelevision series created by Alexi Hawley forNetflix. The show follows Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo), aCIA lawyerwho becomes involved in massive international conflicts with dangerous parties after anassettries to expose her relationship to the agency.
The series premiered on December 16, 2022, and the second season was released on January 30, 2025.
Fledgling lawyer Owen Hendricks, who has just started working for theCIAafter graduating fromGeorgetown Law, has his life turned upside down when he encounters an Eastern Europeanassetwho threatensextortionif she is not freed from prison. As her long-term relationship with the CIA is revealed, he becomes entangled in convoluted international politics. Hendricks negotiates with the asset and finds himself at odds with menacing individuals and groups, risking his life as he tries to fulfill his duties.
Each episode ofThe RecruitbearsCIA-like initials in its title. The codes, which are not unlike the multitude of initials for different divisions and projects that Owen Hendricks must understand in his role within the agency (codes Owen acknowledges at one point he has trouble keeping up with), represent a line of dialogue from their respective episodes.
Each episode title forThe Recruitis a reference to an especially catchy line of dialogue in the corresponding installment, written out as an abbreviation.
It was announced that Netflix acquired an unnamed espionage drama on April 28, 2021, withEntertainment Onebacking the production.DubbedGraymail, the project was created by Alexi Hawley, executive producer of several popularprocedural dramaseries, such asCastle,The Rookie, andits spin-off.Hawley again served asexecutive produceras well asshowrunner. Alongside Hawley, Noah Centineo;Doug Liman, Gene Klein, andDave BartisofHypnotic; andAdam CiralskyandCharlie EbersolofP3 Mediaalso joined the project as executive producers.The project was set as an eight-part one-hour television series.It was unveiled on September 28, 2022, that Hawley, George Ghanem, Amelia Roper, Hadi Deeb, Niceole Levy, and Maya Goldsmith served as the series writers. Meanwhile, Doug Liman,Alex Kalymnios, Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr., and Julian Holmes directed the episodes.On January 26, 2023, Netflix renewed the series for a second season.
When the production was announced on April 28, 2021, Centineo was unveiled as the lead character of the series.More castings were revealed on November 12, 2021, with Aarti Mann, Daniel Quincy Annoh, Vondie Curtis Hall, Kristian Bruun, Laura Haddock, Colton Dunn, and Fivel Stewart joining the main cast.In addition, Byron Mann, Angel Parker, and Kaylah Zander were also announced in recurring capacities.
On December 19, 2023,Teo Yoowas cast as a new series regular for the second season.On January 25, 2024,James Purefoy,Brooke Smith,Devika Bhise,Felix Solis, Young-Ah Kim,Do Hyun Shin,Sanghee Lee,Omar Maskati, andAlana Hawley Purvisjoined the cast in recurring capacities for the second season.
Principal photographyfor the first season took place inSorel-Tracy, Quebec andLos Angeles, California, on October 25, 2021,and wrapped on March 28, 2022.Filming for the second season began on January 4, 2024, and took place inVancouver, Canada, andSeoul, South Korea.
The Recruitpremiered globally on Netflix on December 16, 2022.The second season was released on January 30, 2025.
The series was promoted during Netflix'sTUDUM Globalevent on September 24, 2022, onYouTube.Additional info, including its release date and official title, were unveiled at the official website of the event.The first official trailer for the series was released on YouTube on November 16, 2022.
For the first season, thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoesreported a 68% approval rating, with an average rating of 7/10, based on 31 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "The Recruitmay not be the freshest chip off the old block, but it employsNoah Centineo's considerable charms to highly watchable effect."Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the show a score of 59 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Richard RoeperofChicago Sun-Timesgave the series 3 out of 4 stars and said, "Noah Centineo makes a likable lead on the flashy, funny series."
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 92%, based on 12 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10.