The Top Gun series received generous support from the US Navy because it was such an effective recruitment tool. I wonder if something similar went on between the CIA and Netflix’s new series The Recruit, this time as an exercise in reputation management.
‘There’s nothing sinister or threatening about the Company,’ this bizarre, horribly ill-judged and tasteless comedy/thriller series squeals at every turn. ‘We’re just a bunch of lovable, kooky misfits doing our bit to defend your freedoms.’
If you think I’m exaggerating, consider that one of the biggest baddies in the series – right up there with the evil Russians – is the Senate oversight committee responsible for holding the CIA to account. R-i-g-h-t. So in The Recruit’s perfect world, the CIA would just be allowed to do whatever the hell it wanted, unimpeded by pesky scrutiny on behalf of the taxpayers who fund it?
But perhaps I’m prejudiced. I’ve hated the comedy/thriller genre since the days of the A-Team.
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