What to Rewatch Online: Alias

Alias Season 1

Back in July, I decided to start a new column that would feature my recommendations of shows that I think viewers should consider rewatching in its entirety online. The first show I highlighted was the Syfy series Warehouse 13. You can read that article here.

Much like how the USA Network drama Suits had a resurgence on Netflix not that long ago, I wanted to continue that trend by highlighting other shows that I would love to see have the same kind of resurgence.

This time around I want to focus on the ABC drama Alias, which was created by J.J. Abrams (the man behind Lost, Person of Interest and later the Star Trek franchise reboot movies. The series starred Jennifer Garner in her defining role of Sydney Bristow. Abrams first had the idea of Alias while making the WB hit series Felicity. In fact, he thought that Alias would be very much like Felicity, only if Felicity were a spy.

Alias debuted on ABC on September 30, 2001, focusing on Sydney Bristow, a double agent from the Central Intelligence Agency who was posing as an operative for SD-6, a worldwide criminal and espionage organization that actually approached and recruited Bristow while still a college student, making her think she was working for the good guys.

Alias Season 2

While the main cast changed over the show’s five season run on ABC, the main co-stars throughout the majority of the show included Michael Vartan as Sydney’s CIA handler Michael Vaughn and her [SPOILER ALERT] future husband and father of her children; Ron Rifkin as Arvin Sloane, the head of SD-6 and Sydney’s boss and Victor Garber as Jack Bristow, Sydney’s estranged father as well as fellow SD-6 spy and fellow CIA double agent.

In the show’s debut season other cast members included:

Future Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper, who played Will Tippin, a reporter for a local newspaper and one of Sydney’s two best friends;
Merrin Dungey, who played Francie Calfo, a graduate student and Sydney’s other best friend and roommate;
Carl Lumbly, who played Marcus Dixon, Sydney’s partner and friend at SD-6; and,
Kevin Weisman, who played Marshall Flinkman, who provided tech support at SD-6.

Alias Season 3

As the show progressed in seasons on the air, the cast grew and changed to include the following over its next four seasons:

Greg Grunberg, who played Eric Weiss, a friend of Michael Vaughn and fellow CIA agent;
David Anders, who played Julian Sark, who was originally introduced as an operative working for Sydney’s mother [more on her directly below, by the way] and eventually an antagonist all of his own;
Lena Olin, who played Irina Derevko, a former Russian spy and Sydney’s mother;
Melissa George, who played Lauren Reed, an NSC liaison at the CIA and briefly the [SPOILER ALERT] wife of Michael Vaughn;
Mia Maestro, who played Nadia Santos, Sydney’s half-sister; daughter of Irina Derevko and Arvin Sloane and former Argentine Intelligence and later CIA agent;
Rachel Nichols, who played Rachal Gibson, a computer genius and agent of The Shed, an organization posing as the CIA;
Balthazar Getty, who played Thomas Grace, an operative for APO (Authorized Personnel Only), the new division created by Arvin Sloane after SD-6 was taken down;
Elodie Bouchez, who played Renee Rienne, an international terrorist called “The Raven”; and,
Amy Acker, who played Kelly Peyton, a friend and former colleague of Rachel Gibson who also worked for The Shed and was the most ruthless character of the show.

Among the recurring members of the show were the following:

Sarah Shahi (Person of Interest)
Gina Torres (Suits and 9-1-1: Lone Star)
Patricia Wettig (thirtysomething)
Amy Irving (Carrie and Crossing Delancey)
Terry O’Quinn (Lost)
Kurt Fuller (Psych)
Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her)
Angela Bassett (9-1-1)
Sonia Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman)

Alias Season 4

Among just some of the more notable guest stars who appeared in only one episode, or up to three episodes, of Alias included the following:

Quentin Tarantino
Djimon Hounsou
Joel Grey
James Lesure
Christian Slater
Faye Dunaway
John Hannah
Peter Berg
Vivica A. Fox
Griffin Dunne
Michael McKeon
Richard Roundtree
Michelle Forbes
Jason Segel
Kevin Alejandro
Corey Stoll
Ricky Gervais
Jose Zuniga
Arnold Vosloo
Stana Katic
Sterling K. Brown
Randall Park

The first season of Alias earned an average of 9.7 million viewers during 2001 and 2002. The first season was especially known for its cliffhanger endings after each episode, by the way. Season two averaged 9 million viewers. The drama saw its ratings drop to 8.2 million viewers during its third season in 2003-2004, but then rallied in season four, reaching a whopping 10.3 million viewers. The show fell to 6.7 million viewers during its fifth and final season during 2005-2006, though.

Alias Season 5

The series was well received among critics and was also included in several “Best Of” lists and was considered part of a wave of TV shows from the late 1990s and early 2000s that featured strong female characters alongside Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the original Charmed, Xena: Warrior Princess, La Femme Nikita, Veronica Mars and Dark Angel.

It should also be noted that from 2002 through 2006, over two dozen original novels were published. Half of them focused on Sydney Bristow’s early missions for SD-6 as well as missions conducted by Michael Vaughn prior to meeting Sydney, and the latter half of the novels focused on The APO, the new organization focused on during season four.

And, in August 2003, the real CIA enlisted series star Jennifer Garner to appear in a recruitment video, which was to be shown at fairs and college campuses.

The series aired 105 episodes during its five-year run and aired its series finale on ABC on May 22, 2006.

Make sure to check out this trailer for season one of Alias:

This show was chock-full of action and suspense as well as emotional family moments and romance, making Garner a household name and cementing Sydney Bristow as one of the most influential TV characters of the early aughts.

You can watch all five seasons of Alias on Disney+.

And, when you get a chance, please post your thoughts on Alias in our comments section below.