I haven't seen this show yet. Shortly after I ran some Merc in the '90s, I found the show Soldier_of_Fortune,_Inc.. I think I only saw less than half the episodes, but it seemed like the right kind of stuff for a campaign.
Note: I never saw the 2nd season, which had Dennis Rodman in it! Yech.
My Twilight claim to fame: I ran "Allegheny Uprising" at Allegheny College, spring of 1988.
A special ops-type show I actually like watching more is on Cinemax, called Strike Back. If you have Cinemax and you're not watching this, you're missing something. (Note that I did not say "totally realistic" or suchlike, but it's enjoyable, and more realistic than The Unit.)
I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons...First We Take Manhattan, Jennifer Warnes
I'm a fan of Strike Back. I've read a few Chris Ryan books and havent liked them, but Strike Back (which i think is based on some of his books) has been pretty good to watch. As Paul says, maybe not totally realistic, but I'd call it "gritty" and again i'd agree its better than the unit.
I think Strike Back is in its 4th season.
Having said that, i found The Unit a good source of material for a Merc campaign because almost every episode was based on a different "merc like scenario".
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