USA’s new drama “Shooter” creates a tangled web of espionage.

The 10-episode action series stars Ryan Phillippe (“Secrets and Lies”) as Bob Lee Swagger, an ex-Marine sniper who has retired outside of Seattle after serving in Afghanistan. In the premiere (Tuesday at 10 p.m.), that exile is interrupted when his ex- commanding officer, Issac Johnson (Omar Epps, “House”), now with the Secret Service, solicits his expertise in a clandestine operation to help prevent a plot to kill the President.

When Swagger is framed for said assassination, he’s forced to go on the run to clear his name, find the real shooter and protect his wife (Shantel VanSanten) and young daughter. And given Johnson’s role recruiting Swagger, there are immediate questions about his motives.

“He’s involved in the manhunt [for Swagger] but that’s where the web gets all twisted up,” Epps, 43, tells The Post. “First it seems like Isaac’s the bad guy, but then they have to come together in order to unravel certain things that happen within the season. It’s a real dicey cat-and-mouse game and that’s the fun part of it.”

“Shooter,” originally set to premiere last July, was pushed back following the fatal shooting of three police officers by a former Marine in Louisiana. It’s based on the 2007 film of the same name starring Mark Wahlberg and the pilot plays out much like the movie, but Epps says the story takes creative license throughout. The rising FBI bureau agent, originally written as male character Nick Memphis, is played here by Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Nadine; other co-stars include Eddie McClintock as Homeland Security counter intelligence agent Jack Payne and Tom Sizemore as senior CIA agent Hugh Meachum.

And according to Epps, none of them are immune from the series’ central conspiracy.

“[Isaac] is a guy who believed in the system. As he worked his way up the ranks, things became less black and white and more gray,” he says. “He got to where he’s at by trying to fight for the greater good. Through the course of the season his conflict is, ‘what really is the greater good?’”

“Every character gets wrapped into their own thing depending on what side of the fence they’re on,” he adds. “There are all these moving parts — who’s your friend, who’s your ally, does that person change?

To prepare for the role, Epps had to learn some Mandarin (his wife in the series is Asian), and he and Phillippe underwent extensive weapons training with an ex-Marine (the series is certified by the veterans coalition “Got Your Six” for its portrayal of vets) to learn tactical movements and formations.

“We really wanted it to look true,” Epps says. “These guys are supposed to be expert Marine snipers and that’s not something you can just pick up in a week.”

“Shooter” Series premiere 10 p.m. Tuesday on USA