Jennifer Garner & Bradley Cooper's 5-Part 'James Bond Meets 24' Series Deserves To Be Binged

Credit: MovieStillsDB Published Sep 15, 2026, 7:30 PM EDT Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Jennifer Garner and Bradley Cooper starred in a five-season spy series that was a little bit James Bond and a little bit 24, and it actually works better in the streaming age. The streaming age has changed the way we watch TV. The ability to binge a show makes a huge difference in how it's enjoyed. Back before we had access to every episode of our favorite shows, you had to wait week upon week to get through the season of a series. There are plusses and minuses to being able to get through a whole series at once, with some series, often thematically heavy ones, feeling a little less grand, and others actually benefiting from it. Take Alias, a 2001 spy action series that aired on ABC for five seasons. The series was a hit while it was airing, but it makes even more sense as a binge-watch. Jennifer Gardner stars as Sydney Bristow, a double agent working for the CIA who poses as an operative of a worldwide criminal organization. The series primarily involves Sydney trying to complete her dangerous job while also keeping her double life a secret from her friends and family. Alias was Garner's breakout role, leading to a decade of leading performances in everything from popular romcoms to early Marvel movies. She wasn't the only breakout. A young Bradley Cooper also starred in the series as Will Tippin, Sydney's friend who is unaware of her secret life until he's kidnapped and Sydney is forced to reveal her secret identity in order to save them. Alias is frequently ranked among the great action shows of that era, but it's even better as a binge-watch. ABC’s Spy Thriller Alias Feels Like 24 Crossed With James Bond Credit: MovieStillsDB ABC's Alias is kind of like 24 mixed with James Bond. Any spy series that involves terrorist or criminal organizations is always going to bring to mind Jack Bauer and the ticking clock of that Fox series. 24 came out around the same time as Alias, and Alias feels like the carefree version of the show. It probably has a lot more in common with the James Bond franchise. Gadgets are aplenty in Alias, and Sydney's penchant for disguises calls to mind the James Bond films starring Roger Moore, where the 007 was not the cold-blooded killer type, but a debonair rapscallion who wasn't afraid to laugh at himself. Garner is also never afraid to laugh at herself in the role, but Sydney is still a formidable spy all the same. It's a globetrotting series with mustache-twirling villains and plainly evil organizations like the Alliance of Twelve, whose business is whatever the most nefarious thing is the writers can think of. Alias Is An Even Better Watched When It’s Binged MovieStills DB Alias, like a lot of the network dramas of the era, was filled with cliffhangers and pacing problems. Far too often, audiences would be watching a filler episode as the showrunners attempted to fill up 22 episodes of television every year. Cliffhangers were aplenty too, ensuring a clean end to episodes and seasons that could easily be picked up in a week or a year. On a binge, these issues are far less glaring. An episode that wastes time on a storyline you don't care about is a lot less egregious when you can just click "next" as the credits roll, or start season 3 after season 2 teases you with a cliffhanger. Alias was always a good show, so maybe it's not that surprising that a lot of Alias all at once would be even better.