Splinter Cell Deathwatch is a spin-off from the everlong Splinter Cell videogame series, based upon the Tom Clancy novels, and it makes me realise that we haven’t had one in a while.
In fact, 2013 was the last one, subtitled Blacklist. I’m probably not brilliant at them, though.
Sam Fisher (Liev Schreiber – Caught Stealing) is now an old man, but can still kick ass with the best of them, even though it’s strange how he has a gun, but would rather kick seven shades of shinola out of the baddies. Surely – and especially if you’re getting on – you’ll go with the path of least resistance in order to achieve your objectives, while also staying alive.
Here, he teams up with Zinnia McKenna (Kirby Howell-Baptiste – The Sandman) – alongside the strangely-named Thunder and Grim, and they’re here to take out the trash, namely Diane Shetlan, CEO of private military company Displace International, who’s due to speak at COP 31 about climate blah, thus placing the setting of this programme in late 2026.
Splinter Cell Deathwatch has a lot of heavy action, to the point where it gets very gory, such as a scene where one guy is seen having been killed with a hammer, while the assailant wrenches a tooth out of his mouth.
Also, animated in a Japanese anime style – with slightly stilted animation, overall, this is interesting, but I’m not wholly sold on it. It certainly does echo the feel of the Splinter Cell universe, so if you are a big fan of the games, you’ll get the most out of it.
Thanks to our friends at Netflix for the screener prior to release.
Splinter Cell Deathwatch is on Netflix from today.
It’s not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but when it is, it will be listed on the New DVD, Blu-ray, 3D and 4K releases UK page.
Check out the trailer below:
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 20-25 minutes per episode (8 episodes)
Release date: October 14th 2025
Studio: Netflix
Format: 2.00:1
Series Directors: Félicien Colmet-Daage, Guillaume Dousse
Creator: Derek Kolstad
Writers: Derek Kolstad, David Daitch, Katie J Stone, Anthony Florez, Fallon O’Dowd, Matias Wulff, Naomi G Davis, Joseph Mwamba
Music: Chase Deso, Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans
Voice Cast:
Sam Fisher: Liev Schreiber
Zinnia McKenna: Kirby Howell-Baptiste
Commentator/Board Member: Walles Hamonde
Thunder/Politician: Joel Oulette
Anna Grimsdottir: Janet Varney
Salesman/Priest: Piotr Baumann
Salesman: Michael Golab
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.