TV Chat
In reply to the discussion: What is your most favorite TV show ever as the GREATEST of all TIME for you? [View all]AZProgressive
(30,048 posts)I thought about mentioning The Americans as it is one of top 10 favorite shows.
I used to research intelligence agencies, it is interesting if you're into real conspiracy theories but the excerpt posted below is what the show is loosely based on.
Wikipedia:
Illegals Program
The Illegals Program (so named by the United States Department of Justice) was a network of Russian sleeper agents under unofficial cover. An investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) culminated in the arrest of ten agents on June 27, 2010, and a prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States on July 9, 2010.[1]
The arrested spies were Russian nationals who had been planted in the US by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (known by its Russian abbreviation, SVR), most of them using false identities.[2] Posing as ordinary American citizens, they tried to build contacts with academics, industrialists, and policymakers to gain access to intelligence. They were the target of a multi-year investigation by the FBI. The investigation, called Operation Ghost Stories, culminated at the end of June 2010 with the arrest of ten people in the US and an eleventh in Cyprus.[2] The ten sleeper agents were charged with "carrying out long-term, 'deep-cover' assignments in the United States on behalf of the Russian Federation."[3][4][5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegals_Program
One thing unrealistic about the show is those that are on unofficial cover assignments rarely do risky missions because they can be arrested. They usually use those with official cover or diplomatic immunity for the risky ones.