Netflix’s “The Recruit” Takes Over The Grove in LA For Global Premiere

The cast and creative team behind Noah Centineo’s “The Recruit” assembled at The Grove on Thursday December 8th for the Hollywood premiere of Netflix’s CIA series.

“The Recruit” centers around Owen Hendricks (Centineo), a young CIA lawyer whose first week on the job turns upside down when he discovers a threatening letter by former asset Max Meladze (Laura Haddock). Meladze plans to expose the agency unless they exonerate her of a serious crime.

Owen quickly becomes entangled in the dangerous and often absurd world of power politics and its mischievous players as he travels the world in the hopes of completing his assignment and making a mark at the CIA.

Owen isn’t without his support system thanks to his roommates Terence (Daniel Quincy Annoh) and Hanna (Fivel Stewart). However, he doesn’t find such support from coworkers like Lester (Colton Dunn), Violet (Aarti Mann) and the beleaguered Janus Ferber (Kristian Bruun).

CIA general counsel Walter Nyland (Vondie Curtis-Hall) guides Owen on this mission which escalates quickly with dangerous international complications. 

Everyone was in high spirits at the premiere ahead of all eight episodes arriving on Netflix. The legendary Vondie Curtis-Hall spoke about Walter Nylund’s journey for the season.

“For Walter, you think he’s one thing, he’s got this facade, he’s a brother with this big, big job in the CIA,” says Curtis-Hall. “I think he sees in Noah’s character some of himself.”

Creator and showrunner Alexi Hawley explained his initial vision for the project. “The CIA gets hundreds of letters a day and most are something like, ‘I’m in jail, I stole a ham, don’t know how it ended up in my purse, but I know about the JFK assassination,’” Hawley shares. “Most of them are like that, but some of them are real. The way I pitched this show is that it’s not a conspiracy theory show, but a show about hidden agendas.”

Hawley envisioned his lead actor as a cross of Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men and a young Bill Murray. However, lead actor Noah Centineo felt the part was written just for him. “When I was reading the pilot, I got on the phone with Alexi about it,” says Centineo. “I said, ‘Yo, bro, who gave you permission to write me into a script?’”

Centineo didn’t pull from other performances consciously, but wanted to be sure the comedic bits landed amid the drama and action of the series.

“Owen is a young man who just graduated from law school and gets recruited to the CIA,” Centineo says. “The first time you meet him it’s his second day on the job and he’s hungry to prove himself… usually on your first day of work it feels like the stakes are life or death. In his (Owen’s) case, they are.”

Centineo executive produces the series along with Doug Liman, Gene Klein, David Bartis, Adam Ciralsky, and Alexi Hawley who also serves as creator and showrunner.

Attending the red carpet premiere were stars Noah Centineo, Laura Haddock, Fivel Stewart, Aarti Mann, Colton Dunn, Daniel Quincy Annoh, Kristian Bruun, Vondie Curtis Hall, Byron Mann, Angel Parker, Kaylah Zander, Charlie Saxton, Christian Jadah, and Katherine King So.

All eight episodes of “The Recruit” premiere on December 16th, 2022 on Netflix.