12 Best TV Shows Like Butterfly

Prime Video's spy thriller "Butterfly" features Daniel Dae Kim as David Jung, an American intelligence agent who has been dead for nearly a decade. He co-founded Caddis, an intelligence organization, but when things went south, he faked his death and disappeared. He left behind his daughter Rebecca (Reina Hardesty), who immediately started training to be an assassin and work for the very organization her father created. Years later, the two are reunited when David reappears, determined to get his daughter out of Caddis and burn the entire organization to the ground.

"Butterfly" is filled with tense action, double crossing, and family members reconnecting, even if that isn't in the best of circumstances. While there are plenty of espionage thrillers to watch that have similar themes, there are some that are better than others for those who love what "Butterfly" does. From father-daughter duos and vanishing agents to strong female leads and period pieces, these are the best shows like "Butterfly" to watch next.

A father and daughter who are both CIA agents, but have lied to each other about it the entire time? That's exactly what "FUBAR" is about. Arnold Schwarzenegger is Luke Brunner, an absent father retiring from the CIA. Maybe now he can finally get to know his daughter, even if his marriage ended a while ago. However, he's pulled back in when they need him to extract a fellow agent — he just doesn't know that it's actually his daughter, Emma (Monica Barbaro). What ensues is a wild ride as they learn more about each other and try to establish a new dynamic as colleagues, though Luke tends to let the "father" side get in the way.

"FUBAR" is the show for audiences that love the father-daughter dynamic in "Butterfly." While it's in a different vein, particularly because the Netflix series has quite a bit more comedy than the Prime Video one, it presents a story with the same core: an absent father and an angry daughter connecting after years apart while fighting for their lives. "FUBAR" is what "Butterfly" could be if the agency wasn't actively trying to have David and Rebecca assassinated so their secrets don't come out. Both projects boast powerhouse actors, and "FUBAR" marks Schwarzenegger's first leading role on television, which makes it special in its own right — in fact, "FUBAR" almost feels like an Arnold Schwarzenegger documentary at times.

"Nikita" is all about the titular character, played by Maggie Q, as she embarks on a mission to destroy the organization that made her a killer. Nikita Mears thought she was trading time in prison to serve her country, but instead, she was trained to be a weapon by a secret division of the CIA after her identity was wiped from existence. Nikita has been biding her time after escaping, and the last three years in hiding have made her more than ready to put an end to the organization responsible for the death of her fiancé.

Nikita and Rebecca are on nearly identical journeys. While Nikita isn't reconnecting with a father she thought was dead, they're both trying to beat the organization that built them into the assassins they are. These groups shaped these two women into lethal machines but they now see them as liabilities, so they will stop at nothing to eliminate the risks they pose. Nikita and Rebecca started the operative life young and their anger is rooted in the deaths of loved ones. That's what makes "Nikita" an awesome watch for "Butterfly" fans — it's another woman whose life was tainted by her job, and now she's trying to take it back.

"The Americans" stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two KGB agents living in the United States during the latter stages of the Cold War. The FX series portrays their time undercover, spanning six years in American history from 1981 to 1987. The Jennings live right next door to FBI agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), giving audiences a look at how they spy on him and the conflicts happening between the U.S. and Soviet intelligence agencies at the time.

This is the show to watch if you want a period espionage piece rooted in real historical events. Though many of the characters are fictional and some creative liberties are taken, it's still a thrilling watch for history lovers. The Jennings also raise children while in the United States, adding a dynamic fans of "Butterfly" are sure to enjoy as they balance being parents with serving their country as spies. It gives a possible look into why David thought it would be better to fake his death and leave his daughter behind rather than continue to lead a double life, even if it wasn't the best decision.

A teenager and her adoptive father on the run from the CIA? That's what the Prime Video series "Hanna" follows. Erik (Joel Kinnaman) adopted Hanna (Esme Creed-Miles) as a child because of his love for her mother. He recruits pregnant women to help create super soldier babies for the CIA, but when the program falls apart, he saves Hanna so she isn't harmed when the parent organization decides to discontinue the program, killing the children in the process.

"Hanna" is what to watch if you like the father-daughter duo and high stakes of "Butterfly." In the latter, David doesn't exist because he faked his own death and hid in South Korea. That dynamic is flipped in the former, since Hanna is a part of a group of children that shouldn't be alive anymore — on paper, she never even existed. The young women of both shows are alike in that Hanna is a super soldier due to changes the CIA made to her DNA as a baby and Rebecca was trained to be as lethal as possible, making them valuable assets their creators want to control and forcing their father figures to do what it takes to protect them.

"The Old Man" follows Jeff Bridges as Dan Chase, a retired CIA agent who goes on the run after killing someone breaking into his home. However, the CIA wants him in their grasp and will stop at nothing to capture him. He rents a room from a young woman called Zoe (Amy Brenneman) while trying to lay low, and she's ultimately forced to go on the run with him when things go south. They're not only outrunning the CIA — they're outrunning a hitman hired by the CIA, which is ten times worse.

David and Dan are two peas in a pod. Both were hiding out from the organization they worked for, only to be found and forced to flee. They have a female companion to help them, which creates a fun duo to root for, even if the relationships aren't alike. The two series are gritty and keep your eyes glued to the screen as they embark in awesome fight sequences, car chases, and more, but what makes "The Old Man" worth adding to your list is John Lithgow as Harold Harper, the FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence. Harold and Dan are playing a chess game that rivals that of David and Rebecca against Juno (Piper Perabo), the leader of Caddis. Both shows feature fantastic antagonists that make you love them, even when you know that you shouldn't. 

The beloved J.J. Abrams show "Alias" stars Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, an agent working for the CIA and an international spy organization. With the help of the CIA, she's trying to take down the other, and that requires aliases, lying to her family, and realizing the group that recruited her out of college is actually the bad guy. Across five seasons, Sydney is kidnapped by a terrorist group, uncovers secret files that reveal what happened to her mother, and there's even a flashforward to Sydney with her own kid.

"Alias" is the series for "Butterfly" fans that wanted more of a focus on Rebecca. Sure, it's fun to watch her do things with her father, but her solo sequences are some of the best in the Prime Video project and keep you hooked from the first episode. Sydney — who is skilled, efficient, and knows how to hide in plain sight even after coloring her hair fire engine red — is avenging the death of her fiancé while learning that her father is in the same boat of acting as a double agent. Named one of the best TV shows of 2003 by the American Film Institute, "Alias" is the perfect addition to your watch list.

When a war hero named Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) arrives home after years of being held hostage by al-Qaeda, one CIA member thinks he's now a double agent and is gathering American military secrets to trade. "Homeland" follows Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) as she secretly investigates said marine after his rescue. He went missing years before, but, after a raid on a compound, the United States found him. However, Carrie believes he's planning a terrorist attack and decides to look into it in an off-the-books op. Across the eight seasons of "Homeland," Carrie not only investigates Brody, but has to figure out who is actually behind the attack when it happens.

The Showtime series is like if Juno was the main character of "Butterfly." Juno and David had a falling out, which is part of what caused him to fake his own death and vanish without a trace, and while it isn't quite the same as Carrie and Brody's situation, it has a similar feeling of untrustworthiness and skepticism. Both women have opinions of the men close to them and won't let anyone change that, believing they are doing something for the greater good. Whether they are actually doing the right thing is the question, and "Homeland" lets audiences see the situation play out in a different way. The "Homeland" timeline takes plenty of unexpected turns, with Carrie making some questionable decisions across the show's 96 episodes.

Inspired by the Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt movie of the same name, Prime Video's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" follows Michael (Donald Glover) and Alana (Maya Erskine) as John and Jane Smith, secret agents working undercover as a married couple to carry out their missions. They're strangers, forcing them to navigate a fake personal relationship and a professional relationship at the same time as they work through a new job each episode.

Designed as an anthology with new Smiths each season, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" is a great watch for "Butterfly" fans. It features an interesting dynamic, since Rebecca and her father are mostly strangers as well, and audiences get to see both pairs grow closer as they take on new tasks. While it might not seem like it at first, Michael and Alana face similar missions — such as taking out their partners — that force them to question the organization they work for and what their actual intentions are. As an anthology, audiences will get to see this set up over and over again, but new characters each season provide the perfect way to see how different people handle these situations. And, the movie the show takes inspiration from is based on real CIA agents, which is always a nice touch.

"Slow Horses" is all about MI5 agents on the last legs of their careers. They've done something that warrants a team change, but not bad enough to get them fired, instead being shunned to a place called Slough House until they retire or quit. They aren't really in the field anymore, end up doing monotonous office tasks, and are called slow horses by the rest of MI5 as an insult. However, everything changes when River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), a newly demoted slow horse, gets caught up in investigating a potential attack on British soil.

While "Butterfly" and other shows on this list feature people actively trying to get out after a decorated career only to be sucked back in, "Slow Horses" is the opposite. River is a relatively new agent, but an issue during a training exercise got him sent off to Slough House. These are individuals trying to maintain and save careers, not end them, and it's a refreshing change of pace compared to other spy series. Everything audiences love about spy thrillers is in "Slow Horses," but it's presented from an entirely different perspective, which makes it a wonderful watch. Gary Oldman is fantastic as Jackson Lamb, the unkempt and impolite head of Slough House.

The miniseries "The Assets" follows American intelligence personnel Aldrich Ames (Paul Rhys) and Sandra Grimes (Jodie Whittaker) and their work within the CIA during the 1980s. Ames is a mole, giving information to the Soviet Union, and tries to remain under the radar and unrecognized as fellow spies are taken into custody. Grimes knows of a leak and is trying to figure out who is responsible, putting the two in a dangerous cat and mouse game.

Part of what makes "The Assets" one of the best series like "Butterfly" is that it's based on a book written by former CIA agents, giving it a sense of realism that isn't always in espionage shows. The characters are based on real people, and while they may not carry out things exactly like those counterparts, being able to draw parallels between the two makes for an entertaining experience. It feels like you are in the action as Ames carries it out, much like the heart-pounding sequences of "Butterfly."

Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) is starting a career at the CIA and is ready for anything she's assigned. The one thing she isn't prepared for is how much the job will change her. The optimism she starts with fades as she encounters deadly situations, faces off with double agents, and directly interacts with smugglers and mafia members from all over the world. It isn't at all what she thought it would be, but with the help of August Anderson (Christopher Gorham), her handler who became blind after his time in the army, she settles in.

"Covert Affairs" presents what Rebecca's career might've looked like in the early days. She may have been a bit naïve and still excited about the opportunity, especially since she was recruited as a teen, and not yet hardened by the decisions she has to make or the jobs she has to carry out. Annie becomes more adjusted over the show's five seasons, steadily turning into what we see Rebecca as in "Butterfly." While Annie isn't an assassin, she's still in a male-dominated field and has to overcome more to be taken seriously, much like Rebecca likely had to, and that results in a hard exterior.

Ewa Oginiec (Lena Góra) is about to retire from her job as an intelligence agent in Poland until she's sent back into the field to cover for a missing undercover agent. The 2025 Max Originals series "The Eastern Gate" follows her journey to both take the place of and find the agent — who happens to be her lover. What should be her final mission turns into something more when she ends up trying to assimilate into the Russian military and leaves her higher ups to find their missing asset.

The Polish series offers a look at what "Butterfly" could be if it was a mother diving back into the world of espionage rather than a father. While she isn't trying to track down her child, she's still forced back into a life she was about to leave behind to save someone she cares about, and it becomes her biggest mission yet. As an international offering, "The Eastern Gate" looks at the spy thriller genre through a different lens while capturing what audiences love about them: grit, drama, and unmasking secrets.