# Covert Affairs (2010)

> A young CIA linguist is pulled into field operations while her hidden past may be what her agency is really after.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/29134

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 75
- Episode runtime: 42 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, thriller
- Created by: Matt Corman, Chris Ord
- Network: USA Network
- Cast: Piper Perabo, Christopher Gorham, Kari Matchett, Peter Gallagher, Nic Bishop, Anne Dudek, Hill Harper, Sendhil Ramamurthy
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1495708/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: glossy, suspenseful, flirtatious, buoyant

## What critics say

Reviews generally treat Covert Affairs as a watchable spy drama, with its early seasons the strongest and a weaker fifth season.

## Synopsis

Covert Affairs (2010-2014) is an American spy drama created by Matt Corman and Chris Ord for USA Network. Piper Perabo plays Annie Walker, a young CIA operative whose exceptional language skills earn her a sudden summons to field duty, while Christopher Gorham plays Auggie Anderson, a blinded former intelligence agent who becomes her guide through the agency's bureaucracy. Annie's engine is a double life: she must carry out assignments abroad while wondering whether something from her own past is what her bosses are really after. Kari Matchett and Peter Gallagher play Joan and Arthur Campbell, senior figures whose loyalties and motives add pressure to every operation. The series runs five seasons of sixteen-episode arcs, mixing covert missions with an ongoing undercover thread that gives each season its shape. Its tone is glossy and buoyant, with flirtation and polished escapism sitting alongside real danger, and its setting moves from Washington headquarters to foreign cities where the stakes feel personal. Fans of Alias, Homeland and Berlin Station will find resonance in its espionage intrigue and institutional politics.

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