Filming is officially underway on the upcoming BBC spy thriller, Legacy of Spies, which is adapted from John le Carré's 1963 best-selling novel, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
BAFTA-winning actor Matthew Macfadyen leads the cast as iconic master-spy George Smiley, while Monster and The Gentlemen actor Charlie Hunnam plays British intelligence officer Alec Leamas.
They're joined by a host of new cast members, including Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens and Black Doves actress Agnes O'Casey.
The upcoming eight-part series, which also draws on additional material from the 2017 novel, A Legacy of Spies, marks the first time the novel has been adapted for the small screen.
Stephen Cornwell (Message from the King, A Most Wanted Man) wrote the script with Clarissa Ingram, while The Ink Factory, the production company behind the multi-award-winning spy thriller The Night Manager, produces the show, and Michael Lennox (Derry Girls, Say Nothing) serves as lead director. So it's safe to say that viewers are in for a compelling watch!
Keep reading to find out more about the series.
What is Legacy of Spies about?
Billed as a story of "strategy, loyalty, love and betrayal," the Cold War-set series follows George Smiley's quest for his nemesis, Russian master-spy Karla.
© GettyThe synopsis reads: "When Alec Leamas (Charlie Hunnam), a highly experienced Circus field operative, recruits Doris Quinz (Devrim Lingau Islamoğlu), a young and dynamic East German woman, to smuggle high-value Stasi documents into the West, it sets in motion a series of events that threaten to explode in the crucible of Cold War Berlin.
"Pursuing Leamas and Doris are Josef Fiedler (Daniel Brühl) and Hans-Dieter Mundt (Felix Kammerer), two Stasi operatives whose ferocious desire to shut down the intelligence leak is matched only by their internal rivalry and an iron will to outmatch each other. Pulled into the action is Liz Gold (Agnes O’Casey), an idealistic young woman whose courage and conviction force Leamas to navigate a world where loyalties fracture and betrayal is inevitable.
© Getty Images"Behind the scenes, the brilliant and taciturn spymaster George Smiley (Matthew Macfadyen) orchestrates operations while the elusive Soviet mastermind Karla looms in the shadows, setting the stage for a conflict that will define a generation. Personal lives become collateral in a ruthless intelligence war, and as the lines between duty and love begin to blur, every emotion becomes a weapon."
Lead Director and executive producer Michael Lennox described the tale as "extraordinary". "Le Carré's work defined the espionage genre but also disrupted it, turned it on its head," he said in a statement. "His work was daring, stripped back and lived in the present, revealing the profoundly human, life-and-death stakes behind the intrigue.
© Pip Bourdillon"Legacy of Spies bottles that same spirit, a story about individuals making impossible choices at a pivotal moment in history."
Who stars in Legacy of Spies?
Matthew Macfadyen leads the cast as George Smiley, alongside Charlie Hunnam as maverick field operative Alec Leamas.
Previously announced cast members include Daniel Brühl (All Quiet on the Western Front, Rush) as Josef Fiedler, a methodical Stasi intelligence strategist and Devrim Lingnau Islamoğlu (The Empress) as Doris Quinz, a young and dynamic East German woman who delivers vital intelligence from the heart of the East German operation.
Joining the cast are Agnes O'Casey (Black Doves, Lies We Tell) as Liz Gold, an idealistic young woman at the heart of the story and Felix Kammerer (All Quiet on the Western Front, Frankenstein) as Hans-Dieter Mundt, a brutal, unpredictable and psychotically deadly Stasi enforcer.
Meanwhile, Dan Stevens (Zero Day, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) plays Bill Haydon, a brilliant and enigmatic Circus insider. He stars alongside Jake Dunn (What It Feels Like for a Girl, Renegade Nell) as Peter Guillam, Smiley's trusted lieutenant, and Safia Oakley-Green (The Bluff, Out of the Darkness) as Molly Gibson, an energetic new intelligence officer and one of Leamas' most trusted deputies.
© Getty Images for BAFTARounding out the ensemble cast are Ariyon Bakare (Mr Loverman, His Dark Materials) as Cy Aflon, a seasoned US intelligence officer, Saskia Rosendahl (Fabian - Going to the Dogs) as Lotte Gamp, Doris' courageous and protective sister, Patrick Güldenberg (Die Ibiza Affäre, Tatort: Donuts) as Dr Karl Riemeck, a principled doctor pulled into the world of espionage, and Volker Bruch (Babylon Berlin, Generation War) as Emmanuel Rapp, a high-ranking Stasi official.
When will Legacy of Spies air?
The series will premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK, and on MGM+ in the United States.
