TV-MA | 8 episodes | Thriller | 2025
Tom Clancy’s character Jack Ryan was the hero of many action movies, but thinking was his primary job as a CIA analyst. In contrast, shooting and fighting were always the primary duties of Sam Fisher (voiced by Liev Schreiber). Fisher was a former operative of 4th Echelon, a super-secret agency answering directly to the president of the United States, in the world of Clancy’s video game franchise, “Splinter Cell.”
Technically, Fisher retired from field operations, but that will not last for long in creator Derek Kolstad’s eight-episode animated series, “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch” (“Deathwatch”).
Zinnia McKenna (the voice of Kirby Howell-Baptiste) cuts through the mercenaries working in a Vilnius safehouse like butter, in hopes of rescuing a fellow agent, who also happens to be her lover. Unfortunately, they already tortured him to death.
However, she still recovers his tooth hiding a secret file. After enduring significant injuries of her own, 4th Echelon boss Anna “Grim” Grimsdottir (Janet Varney) sends McKenna (uninvited) to Fisher’s remote Polish farm. Of course, there are several black SUVs loaded with henchmen following McKenna, but Fisher will handle them.
Conspiracy Afoot
Viewers can relax. Even though “Deathwatch” was created and co-written by Kolstad, who wrote the “John Wick” movies, Fisher’s loyal dog Kaiju never faces any serious danger. In contrast, Fisher and McKenna take their share of hard knocks (and far worse), as they pursue the conspiracy afoot.
Awkwardly for Fisher, it leads back to Diana Shetland (Kari Wahlgren), whose family he knows all too well. Their business used to be known as a Wagner-like group, selling arms and mercenaries to the highest bidders.
Recently, she has charmed the media by moving into green energy. However, the Shetlands’ long-term goal remains global domination. Ostensibly, her half-brother Charlie (Aleks Le) stands by her as an ally and co-conspirator, but he is a loose cannon pursuing his own agenda.
Although Clancy never wrote any of the “Splinter Cell” tie-in novels, several still landed on bestseller lists thanks to his imprimatur, much like his licensed series, “Op Center” and “Net Force.” A grizzled former Navy SEAL like Fisher clearly appeals to Clancy’s fanbase. This is an older Fisher than fans might know from the games and books, but his hard-nosed, sardonic persona maintains consistency with previous descriptions in other media.
For many fans, 1980s cult actor Michaell Ironside (from films like “Top Gun” and “Total Recall”) is the preferred voice of Fisher in the games, but Schreiber makes a worthy successor. Schreiber (the frequent PBS narrator) has the right vocal gravitas, and he delivers the commando’s one-liners with appropriate sly nonchalance.
Schreiber’s voice work is the most distinctive throughout “Splinter Cell.” However, Wahlgren, a popular anime dubbing artist, nicely expresses Diana Shetland’s cynicism and ruthlessness, as well as her bitter personal resentments.
For the most part, the villains Fisher and McKenna confront are largely multinational or stateless, so the series largely avoids contemporary politics. Kolstad and his team of co-writers obliquely suggest Europe’s ill-advised dependence on Russian energy invites disaster. Fisher is always a true-blue American, despite his lack of confidence in those at the top of the chain of command (both military and civilian).
“Deathwatch” was conceived to deliver action rather than geopolitical analysis. Even though it is animated, a good deal of the fight choreography would be worthy of Kolstad’s “John Wick” franchise. Some viewers might be skeptical of old Fisher’s trim fighting condition, but Clancy’s demographic should be inclined to accept it. In any event, Guillaume Dousse and credited co-director Félicien Colmet-Daage maintain a high energy level and a good deal of tension.
Japanese Anime
Kolstad could have used the late author’s knack for complex intrigue, because the straightforward narrative rarely surprises. However, the characters and franchise are well served by the animation. Inspired by Japanese anime, it retains enough of the style to appeal to fans of contemporary anime properties, but without alienating techno-thriller readers, who will appreciate the clean, easy-to-follow rendering of the many fight sequences.
“Deathwatch” probably better reflects the perspective of Clancy’s novels than the most recent film adaptation, “Without Remorse,” which cast American military officers as the bad guys. In contrast, Kolstad’s series is almost entirely free of ideology, which is a good thing. Yet it certainly invites sympathy for special operators like Fisher and McKenna, who risk life and limb to keep an oblivious civilian world safe.
Recommended for fans of Clancy and special ops thrillers.
“Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch” streams on Netflix on Oct. 14.
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch
Director: Guillaume Dousse, Félicien Colmet-Daage
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Kari Wahlgren, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Janet Varney, Aleks Le
TV Parental Guidance: TV-MA
Episodes: 8 episodes
Release Date: Oct 14, 2025
Rated: 3 1/2 stars out of 5
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