TV Couples
Clandestined to Be Together! TV’s Hottest Spy Couples, Ranked
What is it about secret operations, double identities, and international intrigue that’s such a turn-on for TV characters? We couldn’t say, but if you see two attractive spies working together (or against one another) on a TV show, odds are they’re going to do some, ahem, bedroom reconnaissance together.
From The Americans to Alias, Swooon has ranked television’s hottest spy couples,
9. Phillip & Elizabeth Jennings, The Americans
On the surface, Phillip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) are a typical suburban couple. But what their neighbors don’t know is that the Jenningses are actually Soviet spies posing as American spouses. And the job becomes all too real for Phillip and Elizabeth — and for Rhys and Russell, who fell in love on set.
8. Chuck Bartowski & Sarah Walker, Chuck
The life of geek Buy More tech expert Chuck (Zachary Levi) changed forever when he inadvertently became the sole keeper of the Intersect spy database. Especially because it meant he started going out — in the field, and then on dates — with the CIA agent Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski). (Granted, his other choice was Adam Baldwin’s gruff NSA agent, John Casey.)
7. Nikita & Michael Samuelle, La Femme Nikita
If it weren’t for his TV-heartthrob looks, you wouldn’t think that assassin Nikita (Peta Wilson) would fall for her dispassionate trainer, Michael (Roy Dupuis). But she soon finds the passion in him. “You’re the only one of us who still has a soul,” he tells her at one point. “I don’t know what love is anymore… but the only part of me that’s not dead is you.”
6. Eve Polastri & Villanelle, Killing Eve
MI5 analyst Eve (Sandra Oh) wanted excitement in her job, and she certainly found that when she started following gun-for-hire Villanelle (Jodie Comer). And the more obsessed Eve became with Villanelle, the more Villanelle became fixated with her, until their mutual fascination exploded into something more.
5. Annie Walker & Auggie Anderson, Covert Affairs
There were several covert and not-so-covert affairs on this show, including that between spymasters Joan (Kari Matchett) and Arthur Campbell (Peter Gallagher). But the most ship-worthy was between field op Annie (Piper Perabo) and handler Auggie (Christopher Gorham), whose will-they-won’t-they tension had fans hooked.
4. Nadia Sinh & Mason Kane, Citadel
Prime Video’s high-budget Citadel, the first entry in a global franchise, rides on the chemistry between Mason and Nadia, two ex-spies reclaiming their memories and their skills as they take down an international syndicate. Good thing actors Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas “spark together,” as Madden rightly told TV Insider.
3. Samantha & Steve Bloom, Undercovers
It’s too bad this NBC series didn’t last longer, because Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe steamed up the small screen in their roles as married ex-spies getting back into the game. Luckily for us, it wasn’t co-creator J.J. Abrams’ only time crafting a spy couple impossible not to ship. (See Alias below.)
2. John & Jane Smith, Mr. & Mrs Smith
The 2005 Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Brangelina-era Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are hard acts to follow, but Donald Glover and Maya Erskine definitely brought the smolder in this update. Unlike their film counterparts, the TV show’s John and Jane Smith are only pretending to be a couple at the outset, but romance, of course, ensues.
1. Sydney Bristow & Michael Vaughn, Alias
Neither memory wipes nor assassination attempts nor cloned doppelgängers nor fake CIA organizations nor centuries-old prophecies could stop the relationship between super-spy Sydney (Jennifer Garner) and handler Vaughn (Michael Vartan). For these two, jumping out of planes and taking down villainous organizations was just foreplay.
