The Unit

A covert team of special forces operatives risk their lives on undercover missions around the globe, while their wives maintain the homefront, protecting their husbands' secrets.

The Unit is an American military action drama that ran on CBS from 2006 to 2009 across four seasons and sixty-nine episodes, created by David Mamet. It follows a covert special forces team whose members take on dangerous undercover missions around the globe, while the families they leave behind hold their households together. Jonas Blane, played by Dennis Haysbert, leads the unit alongside operatives such as Bob Brown, Mack Gerhardt and Charles Grey, and each mission-of-the-week story carries real physical peril. Yet the show's emotional center lies at home, where wives like Molly Blane must manage money, children and worry while guarding secrets they cannot share with the people closest to them. The series pairs gritty action sequences with intimate domestic scenes, creating a tense, earnest atmosphere in which every departure feels weighted. A continuing thread examines what secrecy costs in marriage and friendship, and how loyalty to a unit can strain loyalty to a family. Viewers who enjoy military dramas with a human face, or serialized action with strong ensemble bonds, will find its blend of combat and kitchen-table drama absorbing and sincere.

Viewers rate The Unit positively, valuing its military action and its focus on the domestic lives of the operatives' families.

• Generation Killshared military special forces setting and serialized covert missions with domestic life subplots
• Band of Brothersshared military action drama with ensemble cast and family strain
• 24shared covert operations and team-centered action drama

Created by

David Mamet

Release Date

2006-03-07

Episode runtime

42 min

Rating

8.0 / 10 (231)

What is The Unit about?

A covert special forces team undertakes dangerous undercover missions abroad while their wives keep the homefront running and guard their secrets.

What is The Unit like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Unit as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is The Unit violent?

Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Unit as moderate.

What did critics think of The Unit?

Viewers rate The Unit positively, valuing its military action and its focus on the domestic lives of the operatives' families.

Which shows are like The Unit?

Shows with a similar feel include Generation Kill, Band of Brothers, and 24.

How long is The Unit?

The Unit: 4 seasons, 69 episodes.

Is The Unit still running?

No, The Unit has ended.

Where can I watch The Unit?

In United States, The Unit streams on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.