Nikita gets rediscovered: Maggie Q’s spy action thriller still hits hard

People have been circling back to Nikita lately, and it’s easy to see why. During its 2010 to 2013 run, the CW action-thriller never really got its due, even though it delivered relentless hand-to-hand combat and a conspiracy-loaded espionage story that felt a lot more grown-up than the network’s usual mix.

Led by Maggie Q, this take on Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita and the 1997 Canadian TV version follows a rogue assassin who goes after Division, the covert agency that trained her. The show plays like a collision between John Wick and James Bond: surveillance, deception, off-the-books missions, loyalties that keep shifting. What really sets it apart, though, is the tone. It’s darker, rougher, and more grounded than Bond, and miles away from most CW teen dramas or supernatural romances.

A lot of that edge came from the physical side of the show. The stunt work felt practical. Maggie Q handled much of the action herself. The fights pulled from Krav Maga and Kali, the gunfights had weight, and the takedowns looked like they actually hurt. Then there was Amanda, and the psychological war she wages with Nikita. Add in the show’s moral gray areas and the fact that Maggie Q said she was the first Asian American lead in a broadcast drama, and the series had real significance beyond the action. It also got something a lot of genre shows don’t: a proper ending, with creator Craig Silverstein wrapping it up in a conclusive six-episode final season. Reviews were strong, and its reputation has only gotten better with time as an early example of cinematic network action.

If hard-edged spy thrillers are your thing, give Nikita a shot. You can find it on streaming services or digital platforms available in your region.