Devils

Devils turns a London investment bank into the setting for a conspiracy thriller. Massimo Ruggero is a talented trader whose relationship with his powerful mentor becomes increasingly difficult to separate from the dangers around his career.

Alessandro Borghi and Patrick Dempsey give the central rivalry enough personality that the financial manoeuvres are not just abstract numbers. The interesting question is often less what a trade will earn than what somebody expects in return for allowing it.

The series works best when the pressure stays close to those relationships. Its wider conspiratorial ambitions can ask for more belief than the personal drama has earned, and financial sophistication should not be mistaken for documentary accuracy. The first run is the tighter proposition.

If the adversarial pleasures of Billions appeal, this offers another arena of expensive offices and uncertain loyalties, with more overt thriller plotting. It is worth considering for that combination rather than as an explanation of who secretly controls world events.