It all began with the sensational “The Terminal List” of 2022, which laid the dark and tense foundation of this universe. Now the franchise has received a powerful expansion: “The Terminal List: Dark Wolf” (The Terminal List: Dark Wolf) 2025 stands as a large-scale prequel and spin-off, expanding the story into a full-fledged multi-season project.
What is the main difference? If the original of 2022 was focused on personal revenge and the survival of James Reece after a tragedy, then “Dark Wolf” takes us back five years. Here the focus is on Ben Edwards, an elite SEAL operator whose career goes off the rails after a failed mission. Having lost everything, he accepts an offer from the CIA and plunges into the world of covert operations in Iraq and beyond. This is a story not so much about revenge as about becoming, brotherhood, and how thin the line is between serving duty and betrayal.
This is a magnificent series about intelligence and Navy SEALs, where friendship and honesty still come above all else, even in the dirtiest games of the special services. If you missed it, you can safely start watching right now – especially since on 21 October 2026 the second season premieres, and that means there is less than a month left to wait!
The first season has only 7 episodes, but each of them is packed to the limit. Chris Pratt, known for his roles in “Guardians of the Galaxy”, “Jurassic World” and “The Magnificent Seven”, appears here rarely, yielding the center of the stage to the new core of the team. And this plays into the series’ hands:
- Taylor Kitsch (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, “True Detective”, “Battleship”) brilliantly carries the main load, demonstrating stunning physical and emotional form.
- Tom Hopper (“The Witcher”, “The Umbrella Academy”, “Game of Thrones”) adds charisma and depth to the project.
- Luke Hemsworth (“Westworld”, “Thor”) and Dar Salim (“Tetris”, “Rogue One”, “War of the Worlds”) create an impressive ensemble of top-class specialists.
There is also Dar Salim — he may be remembered for Guy Ritchie’s “The Covenant”, “Game of Thrones” and other serious dramatic projects. Here his presence works perfectly precisely in the spy part of the story.
Rona-Lee Shimon is especially well known to fans of “Fauda”; she also appeared in “Messiah”, Black Lotus and Dirty Angels.
And, of course, Chris Pratt returns as James Reece. The star of “Guardians of the Galaxy”, “Jurassic World” and the original “The Terminal List” is not the main character here and does not appear all that often. And that is actually a plus: “The Dark Wolf” does not try to be yet another series solely about Reece.
Pace and tension: don't rush to turn it off!
The series plays masterfully with the viewer. If the first episode greets you with lively, brisk dynamics, the second may seem deliberately slowed down, immersing you in the details of intelligence work. But don't rush to grab the remote! If you catch this rhythm, then by the fourth episode the espionage intrigue winds up to such a level that tearing yourself away from the screen is simply impossible. The title “The Dark Wolf” speaks for itself: it is the story of a predator learning to survive in the shadows.
At some point “The Dark Wolf” begins to resemble the cult “24 Hours” with Kiefer Sutherland.
Not literally in form — there is no famous real-time mode here. Rather in feel: secret services, conspiracies, double games, the highest political levels and heroes who are practically impossible to put out of action for good.
Why cult? Because the true value of such projects is tested by time: they get renewed years later, people argue about them, and their ratings and “watchability” speak for themselves. The two main heroes — Navy SEALs — display such impressive survivability, resilience and tactical savvy that they can safely be placed on a par with the legendary Jack Bauer.
And Jack Bauer long ago became an almost gold standard of television survivability. The series itself “24 Hours” endured eight main seasons, then returned several years later with a mini-season Live Another Day, and later also got a franchise continuation.
So the comparison suggests itself: the heroes of “The Dark Wolf” are also capable of surviving such an amount of trouble that an ordinary person would have already handed in their resignation three times over.
Verdict
“The Terminal List: The Dark Wolf” is a slick spy action thriller with a high-quality intelligence premise. It is, of course, not “Homeland,” but the political intrigues here touch the very highest echelons of power, lending what happens a frightening credibility. By our internal scale, their combat and external qualities of the heroes amount to roughly 9,5 points of Jack Bauer survivability, making this project a must-watch before the premiere of the second season.
The main thing is to give it a little time to get going. And after that it becomes genuinely hard to tear yourself away.
To the level “Homeland” in terms of the depth of its intelligence game it still doesn’t quite reach that level, but you certainly can’t call it a simple shoot-’em-up either. The series gradually climbs very high — to the place where special operations touch the CIA, state policy and the decisions of people whom an ordinary soldier will never see.
And one of the series’ quotes captures its mood very precisely:
“Let our bravery surpass our cruelty.”
If you missed “The Dark Wolf”, you can safely watch it now: the seven episodes go by quickly, and already on 21 October the story of this universe will continue in the second season of the main “The Terminal List”.
Gaya’s rating: 8.5/10.
