Smiley's People (1982–1982)

TV ShowEndedBBC TwoDrama, Mystery1 season, 6 episodes
Smiley's People posterReview score: 77%

Plot

Called out of retirement to settle the affairs of a friend, Smiley finds his old organization, the Circus, so overwhelmed by political considerations that it doesn't want to know what happened. He begins to follow up the clues of his friends past days, discovering that the clues lead to a high person in the Russian Secret service, and a secret important enough to kill for.

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Highest-rated episodes all ranked

  1. 01Smiley's People S01E06Smiley's LighterS01E06 · 9.0Smiley interrogates a diplomat by showing him a series of photographs, and in turn, closes in on the person who killed Vladimir. He is led to the asylum, and ironically, things eventually become clearer.
  2. 02Smiley's People S01E04The Rogue ElephantS01E04 · 7.7Smiley continues his investigation, now looking for a man named Otto in a small fishing community, only to find his decaying body in his boat, and a mysterious chalk mark he's seen before. Smiley talks to the now-perpetually afraid woman.
  3. 03Smiley's People S01E05Alexandra TatianaS01E05 · 7.7Smiley and his colleagues read through an extremely long deathbed confession. Using an undercover name, Smiley travels to Berne to attempt to find the missing pieces of the murder mystery. Meanwhile, we are introduced to a woman in an asylum.

Episodes by season

Season01Episode ratings across the season — the gold bar is its best episode6Episodes1982Aired 7.4Season avg
  1. S01E01Smiley's People S01E01A Mother's AssistanceSeptember 20, 1982 6.8Once more, George Smiley is brought out of retirement to look into the murder of an old colleague.
  2. S01E02Smiley's People S01E02The General's Big FishSeptember 27, 1982 7.2Smiley takes a trip to investigate his friend's flat for clues. After finding a series of clues that lead to something bigger, Smiley interr
  3. S01E03Smiley's People S01E03Gathering FriendsOctober 4, 1982 6.2The investigation of Vladimir's murder leads Smiley to interrogate his latest suspect. Smiley is told to stop investigating the case by a ma
  4. S01E04Smiley's People S01E04The Rogue ElephantOctober 11, 1982 7.7Smiley continues his investigation, now looking for a man named Otto in a small fishing community, only to find his decaying body in his boa
  5. S01E05Smiley's People S01E05Alexandra TatianaOctober 18, 1982 7.7Smiley and his colleagues read through an extremely long deathbed confession. Using an undercover name, Smiley travels to Berne to attempt t
  6. S01E06Smiley's People S01E06Season's bestSmiley's LighterOctober 25, 1982 9.0Smiley interrogates a diplomat by showing him a series of photographs, and in turn, closes in on the person who killed Vladimir. He is led t

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

Cast

Alec GuinnessAlec GuinnessGeorge Smiley

Photos

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Smiley's People

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Trailers & Videos

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TrailerSmiley's People trailer

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