8. Queen & Country
Genre: Spy Thriller
What it is: An award winning cold war spy thriller by Greg Rucka and a revolving roster of artists, Queen & Country, published by Oni Press, follows Tara Chase and her fellow "Minders" as they go on secret missions for MI6, and deal with political and governmental bureaucracy along the way. Espionage, life threatening danger, and political intrigue abounds, and no one is safe. Each series was named after its mission, and all told comprised eight volumes, plus three spin-off Queen & Country: Declassified volumes, and even a couple of prose novels!
Why it would be great: A less glamorous Spooks, and far more realistic than 24, Queen & Country is the perfect successor to the throne left empty when The Sandbaggers went off air over three decades ago. A smaller scale, gritty, real world take on the spy game, with characters that you can really get to know and root for, this series is perfect for post watershed programming. The premise would obviously have to be tweaked a bit, as the cold war ended a long time ago, but the basics are enough to make gripping television. Adapt one storyline per year, maybe even spin off the Declassified stories as their own show, to make a series that if popular enough could last for many years. Tara Chase would obviously still be the lead, but other characters such as Director of Operations Paul Crocker, or Chief of Service Frances Barclay, referred to as "C", are such great characters in their own right. The chances of constant danger for our main characters, as well as the threats from within, would really ramp up the drama, making this must see TV. With the right show runner, this series would be an intense, gripping drama, and we'd be happy to let it infiltrate our screens.