I think it retained the character and tone of the first season, and the ongoing story of the other two leads from Season 1 was very interesting.
Absolutely love Condor. I think it's the most realistic TV spy show done in a long time, next to Rubicon (a series few watched that only lasted a year). You can't trust anybody, even the bad guys have a shred of good in them, and some of the good guys eventually get twisted to the point where they start forgetting who's side they're on and where the boundaries are. Fantastic show. Bob Balaban deserves an Emmy as the not-completely-evil CIA boss. Very realistic, tense as hell.
I watch it once a year and I still don't! No, it's kind of hard to follow with just one viewing. Max von Sydow was great in it. Love seeing NY City circa 1975.
The Bourne franchise may be too manic for the the gritty/realistic focus of this discussion, but I absolutely love it. The first one in particular was groundbreaking — its influence single-handedly transformed the Bond movies, for instance.
Does the Odessa File count as a "spy thriller"? The main character is a journalist, but he in effect becomes a spy to achieve his "mission". Great stuff, as is another Forsyth-based film, The Day of the Jackal.
I recommend All the Money in the World. It feels like a spy movie, but technically it's a kidnapping thriller. Christopher Plummer is masterful as J. Paul Getty.
It has been mentioned above but I think “The Sandbaggers” is the best and most realistic spy series ever on TV. The “Queen and Country” graphic novels are kind of a unofficial sequel to the series - Greg Rucka was a huge fan of the TV series. I also like the TV series “Danger Man/Secret Agent;” “The Prisoner;” “Person of Interest;” and “Nowhere Man” (a UPN show from the 1990s starring Bruce Greenwood). As for novels, I think Charles McCarry’s “Paul Christopher” spy novels are great - highly recommended. I’m a big fan of the James Bond films although I consider them fantasy adventures, not realistic spy movies. The one exception is “From Russia from Love,” which is a fairly realistic spy film and my favorite Bond flick. In that vein, I also enjoyed the 2015 film version of “The Man from UNCLE” - a little “tongue in cheek” and highly entertaining. Also, Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” is a great spy movie and an inspiration for the James Bond movies.
If you want espionage with a sci-fi twist, try the series "Counterpart" with JK Simmons. Ran for two seasons on Starz.
If you are into an all things espionage phase, fact or fiction, dig spy thrillers, novels or films, and like Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne, Len Deighton’s Harry Palmer or even Mick Heron's Jackson Lamb then you had best read the enigmatic and elusive espionage thriller Beyond Enkription. It's the first stand-alone novel in The Burlington Files series based on the life of a real spy Bill Fairclough, aka Edward Burlington, who was an agent for MI6 (codename JJ) and the CIA. Beyond Enkription (intentionally misspelt) is set in London, Nassau and Port au Prince in the seventies pursuant to Edward Burlington infiltrating a global organised crime syndicate while unwittingly working for MI6. After some frenetic attempts on his life he was relocated to the Caribbean where, “eyes wide open” he's recruited by the CIA and is soon headed for shark infested waters off Haiti. The protagonist has been likened to a “posh Harry Palmer.” Indeed, Len Deighton could be forgiven for thinking he co-wrote this monumental thriller. Interestingly, you may not have heard of The Burlington Files before, but time will remedy that. Just like Mick Herron’s Slough House series, The Burlington Files series was rejected by know-all publishers who probably thought they understood espionage having read about 007. Nevertheless, in real life Fairclough and his handler (Col Alan Pemberton CVO MBE) crossed the paths of many spooks who have been written about or written about espionage such as Oleg Gordievsky, Greville Wynne, Oleg Penkovsky, David Cornwell, Graham Greene, Kim Philby et al. Beyond Enkription is a must for all espionage aficionados and the spy tradecraft is ingenious and even relevant now.
Has anyone here watched these films yet? They seem to be good, according to these reviews. Munich: The Edge of War review – an elegant what-if twist on wartime history https://www.ukfilmreview.co.uk/post/the-coldest-game-netflix-film-review
Also recommend Day of the Jackal which was remade later with Bruce Willis but nowhere near as good as the original
OP, since you mentioned Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Smiley's People and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold you've already seen some of the best that the genre has to offer. I will try not to list any film/TV series that has already been mentioned : Our Man in Havana (12/30/59) Man on a String (3/25/60) Torn Curtain (7/4/66) The Quiller Memorandum (11/10/66) The Naked Runner (7/19/67) A Dandy in Aspic (4/2/68) The Chairman (6/25/69) The Looking Glass War (9/69) Topaz (12/17/69) The Kremlin Letter (2/1/70) Scorpio (4/11/73) The Mackintosh Man (7/25/73) The Tamarind Seed (7/74) The Eiger Sanction (5/21/75) Telefon (12/16/77) The Osterman Weekend (10/21/83) Edge of Darkness (mini series) (11/4/85) Defence of the Realm (1/1/86) The Whistle Blower (11/21/86) The Fourth Protocol (3/19/87) Ronin (9/12/98)
How's about 'Body Of Lies'! Directed by Ridley Scott, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, and the scene-stealing Mark Strong! I read the book and the story's based on fact, written by an ex-CIA operative. It feels authentic. A great movie!