The Recruit. Netflix

2022 - 12 - 17

The Recruit

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Variety"

Netflix's 'The Recruit' Review: Noah Centineo's Thriller Lacks Punch (Variety)

Noah Centineo stars in the new spy drama, out December 16.

It was enough to make me wish that the rest of the series’ narrative lines were cleaner and that its vision for what it could be and do were less bogged down in flaccid humor. And Owen’s relationships with his social circle — along with recriminations that his very busy schedule of espionage keeps him from being a fully involved friend — feel like a 20-years-later reboot of the least interesting parts of “Alias.” [The Recruit](https://variety.com/t/the-recruit/),” a new Netflix drama created by Alexi Hawley, thrusts Centineo’s character Owen Hendricks into the midst of international spyjinks, throughout which he runs the emotional gamut from benignly interested to mildly nervous.

Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Recruit' On Netflix, Where Noah Centineo ... (Decider)

Colton Dunn, Laura Haddock, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Kristian Bruun and Aarti Mann also star in a series created by The Rookie showrunner Alexi Hawley.

We’re looking forward, though, to seeing more of Bruun as the extraordinarily paranoid Ferber (more on that in a second). Centineo has gotten past his YA heartthrob image from Netflix romcom films and plays Hendricks as a guy who might not always fit the mold of a tough CIA operative, but he always seems to be in the right place at the right time, even if his methods are clumsy at best and dangerous at worst. So it’s not a surprise that Alexi Hawley, who is a writer/showrunner for The Rookie and The Rookie: Feds is the creator of The Recruit. Hendricks is a lawyer, not a spy, but it seems that this series is going to be full of situations where this rookie with no experience either stumbles upon or actually digs up big and dangerous situations that he ends up insinuating himself into. All that being said, Centineo is credible as an enthusiastic rookie who seems to thrive on constantly being in over his head, and he has a good asset/foe in Haddock as Melazde. It’s not a stretch to say that the comedy-thriller vibe of The Recruit reminds us of a network series like The Rookie but with more swearing. When Hendricks decides he should go to Yemen to find Meladze’s former operative himself, the pair don’t give him any advice other than to “fly coach.” That gets him in trouble — and loses him a fingernail — when he goes unannounced to the black site where the operative is stationed, without a passport that would grant him diplomatic immunity. But the operative eventually tells him more about Melazde, and he goes to Arizona to talk to her. When he reports it to Nyland, he tells Hendricks to continue and gives Lester and Violet the crazies file back. Alexi Hawley, the showrunner of both The Rookie and [The Rookie: Feds](https://decider.com/show/the-rookie-feds/) has created a new series that centers around a new CIA lawyer who wastes no time in getting embroiled in some of the agency’s touchiest operations. But he manages to get away, and lets Melazde know that she needs him more than she’s letting on. Meanwhile, behind a truck, a guy is peeing in the snow and singing “Trouble.”

Will there be The Recruit season 2 on Netflix? Latest news on ... (Radio Times)

Noah Centineo fans have loved the actor's new spy comedy-drama The Recruit, and are hoping to see season 2 released on Netflix.

[Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81396545). [subscribe now](http://radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article). For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the [Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast](https://www.radiotimes.com/audio/podcasts/). Is there a trailer for The Recruit season 2? Check out more of our [Drama](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/) coverage or visit our [TV Guide](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/tv-listings/) and [Streaming Guide](https://www.radiotimes.com/streaming-guide/) to find out what's on. [Never Have I Ever](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/never-have-i-ever-season-4-release-date-netflix/)), Colton Dunn ( [Superstore](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/superstore-season-6-netflix-uk-release-date/)) and Fivel Stewart ( [Atypical](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/atypical-season-4-netflix-release-date/)), helping to give the show its comedic edge. [The Recruit cast](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/recruit-cast-netflix-noah-centineo) also counted [Daredevil](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/daredevil-revival-disney-plus-release-date/) star Vondie Curtis-Hall along with Kaylah Zander ( [Chilling Adventures of Sabrina](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/chilling-adventures-of-sabrina-part-4-review/)), Kristian Bruun (Orphan Black) and Laura Haddock ( [White Lines](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/white-lines-season-2-release-date-netflix/)) among its top names in season 1. [To All The Boys](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/to-all-the-boys-3-review/) trilogy. Will there be The Recruit season 2? Who could return for a possible The Recruit season 2? Will there be The Recruit season 2 on Netflix? Based on Hawley's previous work, it seems likely that The Recruit is intended to run for multiple seasons (as opposed to being a limited series) and there is certainly potential to take the premise further.

Noah Centineo woefully miscast in Netflix spy thriller 'The Recruit' (New York Post)

Noah Centineo pivots from high school hunk to rookie CIA lawyer in "The Recruit" -- and he's woefully miscast in this misguided, wannabe spy thriller.

There’s not a lot of coherence to why certain events are happening, with the car chases and guns seemingly added because they’re part of the spy-thriller scenario. Centineo seems eager to graduate from high school roles without first putting in the work. Still, he plays the Owen with the same Golden-Retriever energy that he used to play a high school jock. The show’s plot is essentially, “hapless new guy bumbles his way through the CIA.” It’s hard to pin down tonally, since that sounds like a slapstick comedy, and it does have humorous moments. The plot gets convoluted as Owen runs around from locations ranging from Yemen to Phoenix, but it moves at a brisk pace. It’s awkward that he hasn’t changed his style to adjust to an older character or a shift in genre.

Netflix's Dull CIA Series The Recruit is More Like Paperwork | TV ... (Roger Ebert)

With all respect to the actual pencil pushers and desk jockeys at Langley, I'm sure that working at the CIA isn't inherently the Jack Ryan, Jason Bourne, ...

Centineo is curiously still figuring out his groove as an actor, and this project might get him more exposure on the Netflix homepage. Centineo rides this series for how it lets Owen be quick-witted at some points and woefully naive in other places (whatever the current scene needs). But "The Recruit" is far too amused with its wordiness in sharing the stuff that happens between cubicles at Langley, and it kills what little momentum the series gathers. There are fleeting moments of mildly rendered action, accompanied by peppy music, in which his lack of physical training leads to some improvisation the script uses lazy shortcuts for (at one point, he unscrews a toilet to escape from a bathroom in the fastest way one could do that, ever). As part of his hazing, Owen is given stacks of "graymail," written letters by people who threaten to release government secrets. Of course, someone has to do the paperwork and the bureaucratic acrobatics to protect assets, vet threats, and the like.

'The Recruit' Cast and Character Guide: Who Plays Who in the ... (TheWrap)

English actress Laura Haddock fills the role of the mysterious Max Meladze, who threatens to expose CIA secrets unless Owen helps get her out of an Arizona ...

Another co-worker at the CIA, Amelia has somewhat romantic intentions for Owen. Violet is Lester’s BFF and another co-worker who’s intent on hazing Owen. Janus is a colleague at work who tries to keep from falling asleep so he can stop the CIA from going on troublesome missions. Walter Nyland is Owen’s boss at the CIA general counsel’s office, who is at turns supportive and demanding of Owen. English actress Laura Haddock fills the role of the mysterious Max Meladze, who threatens to expose CIA secrets unless Owen helps get her out of an Arizona prison. “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” breakout Noah Centineo takes a starring role in the new Netflix series “The Recruit,” but he’s far from the only familiar face in the show.

The Recruit Review: a Messy Comedy-Action Series - The Spool (The Spool)

The Recruit follows Owen, a freshly hired lawyer at the CIA who finds himself over his head as he works with burned asset Max Meladze (Laura Haddock) to ...

The Recruit reads like a network show with the time to fill a season with 22 episodes; as a Netflix show with fewer episodes per season, they don’t have the luxury of a slow build. Centineo can also throw punches with the best of them in action scenes, battling his way out of a double-wide trailer with nary a weapon other than cleaning fluid. Centineo’s had a streak of playing cute fast-talking boys in Netflix’s To All The Boys trilogy. Adding to the mess is a dead dad complex (his dad died serving in Afghanistan) and a roommate situation as she shares an apartment with his ex-girlfriend, Hannah ( [Alexi Hawley](https://thespool.net/?s=alexi+hawley), producer of network action comedies such as The Rookie and Castle. Netflix looks to add to the roster with the new series The Recruit, which follows a dashing but stumbly new CIA lawyer Owen ( [Noah Centineo](https://thespool.net/?s=noah+centineo)), as he falls deeper into internal espionage.