Netflix's The Recruit trailer shows what happens when a legal drama suddenly turns into a Bourne movie

Netflix has released the first trailer for The Recruit, a spy thriller starring Noah Centineo (Black Adam) as a rookie CIA lawyer who finds himself way over his head as he works to uncover a blackmail plot.

The teaser starts off in surprisingly low-key fashion: Centineo’s Owen Hendricks enters the corridors of power as an inexperienced and wildly awkward lawyer with just two days on the job. He’s then tasked with tracking down a former asset who has plans to blackmail the CIA unless their name is cleared of a serious crime. As a 9-to-5 in Langley goes, it’s a pretty quiet day at the office.

Then, things suddenly take a left turn into Jason Bourne and James Bond territory. The fish-out-of-water is thrown into the deep end, taking on armed henchmen, shadowy agents – and even swapping 007’s trademark Martini for a White Claw.

It’s no surprise to learn, then, that Doug Liman – director of 2002’s The Bourne Identity – will helm the first two episodes. The Recruit is being brought to life on Netflix by Alexi Hawley, who also created the criminally underrated procedural series The Rookie, starring Nathan Fillion.

That creative partnership, when coupled with a Noah Centineo performance that goes against his previous work (including Netflix’s To All The Boys… series), adds up to an action-packed, high-octane series that could be one of the streamer’s sleeper 2022 hits.

All eight episodes of The Recruit will be available to stream on Netflix from December 16.

For more from the streamer, check out some of the best Netflix shows you should be watching right now.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.