The Recruit hero Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo, who’s also the executive producer) may just be starting out at the CIA — but he’s got a seriously good tailor. Or, at least, that’s what the just-released photos and trailer of the upcoming spy drama, premiering Dec. 16, are telling us. But there’s more to Owen than a stellar sense of style. This 24-year-old is in for an action-packed eight episodes as he’s thrown into the murky waters of espionage in The Recruit. 

As the trailer reveals, the series follows Owen’s first days on the job as a CIA lawyer. Despite barely being out of his law school cap and gown, Owen is tossed into high-stakes intrigue when he discovers a threatening letter, known as “graymail,” from the snake-tattooed Max Meladze (Laura Haddock), a former agency asset. It’s clearly a high stress job, since Owen must ask In between dodging bullets and charming love interests, “Have you ever had a panic attack?” Apparently, he’ll “get used” to those as Owen travels the world to untangle the truth as the pressure of high-ranking power players threatens his nascent career. 

The two new exclusive Tudum photos prove Owen has to maintain quite the balance on his quest. Sometimes, he’s buttoned up and perfectly coiffed as he plays office politics. Other times, all of the spy activity leaves Owen with mussed hair, a scar on his cheek and a desperate need to loosen up his white oxford shirt. 

“He’s definitely a multifaceted individual,” Centineo tells Tudum. “By day, he’s got the suit, he’s got the hair, he looks presentable. But by night, when he goes home to his roommates, Terence and Hannah, he can actually relax.” Daniel Quincy Annoh and Fivel Stewart play Owen’s fun-loving BFFs; Hannah also just happens to be Owen’s ex-girlfriend, and they may just share some lingering tension.

It seems Owen’s “relaxed” demeanor may just cause some problems for him at his new by-the-book job. “This is a guy who clearly just wings it,” Centineo says. “Not that Owen doesn’t work hard. Not that he’s not smart... [He’s just like,] ‘It’ll work out and I trust my gut.’ That doesn’t really work well with the CIA at all.” 

entineo teases that Owen will eventually learn that lesson over the course of The Recruit. “He thinks he’s working as a lawyer — the truth is you’re never just a lawyer at the CIA,” he explains. “There’s so many more things going on, and that’s the world we explored with The Recruit.” In fact, Centineo suggests the “learning curve” at the CIA is so high for Owen that it could “end with him dying or going to prison.” (Bonus: Take Tudum's CIA quiz to see if you'd struggle as a recruit, too.)

The rest of the new Recruit photos do suggest countless obstacles are ahead for Owen on his thrilling chase to understand what Max is hiding. He can be seen seething and soaking wet, bloody and running and, in possibly the scariest scenario of them all, all dressed up at a black-tie event. There’s no greater threat than small talk, right?  

Follow Owen on the case when The Recruit premieres Dec. 16 — and keep coming back to Tudum for more secrets.  

Additional reporting by Jean Bentley.