Spy Games (TV Series)
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''Spy Games'' is a 2020 American
reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
television series that premiered on January 20, 2020, on
Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
. Hosted by
Mia Kang Mia Kang (born 30 December 1988) is a British-Swiss fashion model, Muay Thai fighter, body confidence advocate, and television host based in New York City. Kang grew up in Hong Kong and was bullied as a young girl for being overweight. She hal ...
, the series featured ten contestants compete for $100,000. The competition took inspiration from the World War II government program Station S, in which civilians were assessed and trained to be spies.


Judges

* Douglas Laux: A former operations officer in the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
with nearly a decade of experience. In that capacity, Laux deployed several times to
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
where he helped track and eliminate key terror targets; he was in the country during and after the death of
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
. He also built numerous contacts within the country, becoming familiar with the different languages and cultures of Afghanistan. Near the end of his CIA career, Laux was sent to Syria to meet with members of the anti-Assad resistance of the country. In 2016, he published a memoir detailing his time in the CIA ('' Left of Boom''). * Evy Poumpouras: A former officer in the New York Police Department turned
United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...
agent. Poumpouras served on protective details for former President Barack Obama and former First Lady
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...
. She investigated both financial and violent crimes and worked in the Secret Service's elite
polygraph A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked an ...
unit. She underwent training from the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
in lie detection, human behavior and cognitive influence. She also protected former Presidents
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
,
George H.W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...
and
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. She completed undergraduate studies at
Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
and holds graduate degrees from Argosy University and
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...
. She is currently a journalist who has worked for CNN, MSNBC, ABC and NBC. *
Erroll Southers Erroll G. Southers is an American expert in transportation security and counterterrorism. He is the author of ''Homegrown Violent Extremism'' (2013). Southers is a Professor of the Practice in National & Homeland Security, the Director of Homegrown ...
: A former FBI agent and scholar of national security. Southers completed undergraduate studies at Brown University and planned on becoming a doctor, but instead opted for a career in law enforcement, first joining the
Santa Monica Police Department The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) is a law enforcement agency of the city of Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's Sou ...
. He then served for four years in the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, working in
counterterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...
,
counterintelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...
and served in
SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
. After leaving the FBI, he was appointed by former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve as the deputy director for
critical infrastructure protection Critical infrastructure protection (CIP) is a concept that relates to the preparedness and response to serious incidents that involve the critical infrastructure of a region or nation. The American Presidential directive PDD-63 of May 1998 set up ...
in the California Office of Homeland Security. In 2007, he was appointed chief of intelligence and counterterrorism for the
Los Angeles World Airports Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) is the airport authority that owns and operates Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Van Nuys Airport (VNY) for the city of Los Angeles, California. LAWA also owns and manages aviation-related property n ...
(LAWA)
Police Department The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...
, the nation's largest law enforcement agency dedicated solely to aviation. He holds a master's degree and PhD from the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
. He currently serves as a professor at the
USC Price School of Public Policy The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy (USC Price), previously known as School of Policy, Planning, and Development (SPPD), is the public policy school of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles & Sacramento, California. It offers ...
, specializing in national security and how to combat extremism.


Contestants


Contestant progress

: The contestant received positive critiques and was ultimately declared the Top Performer in the mission by the Assessors : The contestant was brought in for further interrogation, and remained in the competition : The contestant was brought in for further interrogation, and dismissed and eliminated from the competition : The contestant was the runner-up in the competition : The contestant was the winner in the competition and won the $100,000 prize


Episodes


References


External links

* * {{Bravo programming 2020s American reality television series 2020 American television series debuts American English-language television shows Bravo (American TV network) original programming 2020 American television seasons Espionage television series