Spooks (series 1)
Kudos Film and Television developed "Spooks" after releasing Channel 4 medical drama "Psychos" in 1999, though the company initially faced friction from television networks which saw no potential in a post-Cold War spy show. The producers later successfully pitched the series to the BBC after the networks' commissioning teams were replaced. Four episodes were being written when the September 11 attacks took place, and the some scenes were rewritten to take the event into account to show the audience "Spooks's" goal of fighting terrorism. Throughout production, the producers were advised by former intelligence officers from the Security Service, KGB and Central Intelligence Agency. Filming took place from November 2001 to March 2002.
Spooks (series 2)
Not all reviews were positive. Holly E Ordway of DVD Talk disliked the series, stating "I'd heard that it was a gripping, intelligent series that told great spy-thriller stories with gritty realism [...] Well, it seems ["Spooks"] and I are not meant to be together; I bounced off the show on the very first episode and never succeeded afterwards in bringing myself to like it any better." Ordway further felt it was "poorly acted", the rapid cuts and frantic editing "doesn't work" to make it more entertaining, and that the attempts for complexity were "painful".