Published Feb 11, 2026, 5:15 AM EST
Giovana Gelhoren is a High-Trending Topics Writer at Collider, covering the most-talked-about stars, movies, and TV shows. Before joining Collider, she was a Digital News Writer at People Magazine and served as Associate Editor at SheKnows, where she honed her expertise in celebrity coverage and entertainment journalism.
A proud Latina from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Giovana graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Journalism and International Studies. She has interviewed countless celebrities, including Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry, Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Brenda Song, and is known for her encyclopedic knowledge of film, TV, and pop culture.
From Black Doves to The Night Agent, Netflix is filled with gripping spy thrillers. But while their catalog is already decked-out with fan favorites, their latest title to fit the genre is making quite a splash. Less than a week since its premiere on February 5, 2026, the German series Unfamiliar has reached the top spot in TV shows on Netflix worldwide, per FlixPatrol. The series is then followed by Bridgerton, The Lincoln Lawyer and Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich. Unfamiliar, created by Paul Coates, is a twisty, gripping series that will leave viewers at the edge of their seats until the very end.
What Is 'Unfamiliar' About?
Unfamiliar follows married couple Meret (Susanne Wolff) and Simon Schäfer (Felix Kramer), former German foreign intelligence (BND) agents who put their lives as spies behind them to run a safe house in Berlin aptly called "The Nest." Designed as a temporary refuge for assets and defectors, the house sits hidden in plain sight, allowing the Schäfers to maintain the illusion of a normal family life. In the first episode, after a quiet night at home celebrating their daughter Nina’s (Maja Bons) 16th birthday, their carefully constructed cover is threatened when a suspicious, unidentified man arrives asking for help. His wounds seem to be self-inflicted, he’s behaving erratically, and all clues point to him being tied to someone or something greater.
As the season goes on, Meret and Simon go on to meet their most powerful adversary to date in Josef Koleev (Samuel Finzi), a high-ranking Russian military intelligence (GRU) officer who has crossed their paths once before and with whom they share unfinished history. As Russian operatives close in and suspicions mount within the BND itself, Meret and Simon find themselves hunted by all sides, all while coming to terms with the lies and secrets they've kept from each other along the way. As their professional partnership is tested, so does their marriage, with their daughter Nina often getting caught in the crossfire. The series also stars Andreas Pietschmann, Henry Hübchen, Seyneb Saleh, Genija Rykova, Natalia Belitski and Aaron Altaras.
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'Unfamiliar' Is Officially Netflix's Next Big Hit
While Unfamiliar has yet to win a Rotten Tomatoes score from critics, the six-episode series has already become a hit with viewers, not only becoming Netflix #1 show globally but also securing a 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. From the few critics so far, it's clear that Unfamiliar has all the ingredients to make for gripping TV. As Decider put it, the series is "such a puzzle that you would have thought that the show was based on a Harlan Coben novel." According to ScreenRant, while the series doesn't exactly set itself apart from fellow spy thrillers, "it's a polished, visually stunning series that will keep you hooked from the moment you press play."
All things considered, it seems Netflix has found itself a new spy streaming hit. The German series Unfamiliar is filled with action-packed moments, a plethora of unexpected mysteries and a couple's love for each other and their family at its heart. With authentic performances to tell the story, and a sharp direction throughout, Unfamiliar is the type of series that will have viewers from around the world gripped, one episode at a time.
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