Matthew Macfadyen comes in from the cold for John le Carré TV series Legacy of Spies
The Ink Factory is producing the series Legacy of Spies for the BBC in the UK and MGM+ in the US, in co-production with Amusement Park Film and in association with 127 Wall Productions and Paramount Television Studios. An adaptation of the John le Carré novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold that will also draw on material from another le Carré, A Legacy of Spies (thus the title of the show), the series is set to star Matthew Macfadyen (Succession) as George Smiley, Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) as the British intelligence officer Alec Leamas, Daniel Brühl (Captain America: Civil War) as East German spy Jens Fielder, and Devrim Lingnau Islamoğlu (The Empress) as Doris Quinz, a.k.a. Agent Tulip. The series will consist of eight hour-long episodes and is expected to start filming in early 2026.
Stephen Cornwell (Message from the King) is writing the scripts with first-time writer Clarissa Ingram. The story will be set across the UK, and what was, in the time period of the story, East and West Germany and Czechoslovakia. A press release reminds us that The Spy Who Came in from the Cold “dominated the world’s best-seller lists when it was first published in 1963, and remains one of le Carré’s best-selling novels today.” Published in 2017, A Legacy of Spies was also a global #1 bestseller.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold spent eight months at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. The story begins in the shadow of the newly-erected Berlin Wall, as Alec Leamas watches his last agent shot dead by East German sentries. For Leamas, a senior British intelligence officer in Berlin, the Cold War is over. As he faces the prospect of retirement or worse—a desk job—Control offers him a unique opportunity for revenge. Assuming the guise of an embittered and dissolute ex-agent, Leamas is set up to trap Mundt, the deputy director of the East German Intelligence Service, with himself as the bait. In the background is George Smiley, ready to make the game play out just as Control wants.
John le Carré’s most memorable fictional character is master-spy George Smiley, who was featured in the novels Call for the Dead, A Murder of Quality, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy, Smiley’s People, Karla’s Choice, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Looking Glass War, The Secret Pilgrim, and A Legacy of Spies. This TV series charts Smiley’s overarching quest for his nemesis, Russian master-spy Karla, through the defining era of our modern age, the Cold War.
Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell, the founders and co-CEOs of The Ink Factory, provided the following statement: “This project is in many ways the most ambitious and all-encompassing adaptation of le Carré’s work to date, taking our father’s best-known and most-loved most character – the complex and brilliant spymaster George Smiley – and using this medium as a canvas to chart his story as he moves through a world which culturally and politically shapes the one we live in today. To have Matthew embody this operational mastermind, a man both vulnerable and dangerous, alongside the brilliant talent of Charlie, Daniel and Devrim, is a great coup. We are thrilled the series has found its home with the BBC and MGM+ and to be collaborating alongside Malte and the Amusement Park team, while having Graham’s wisdom, vision and deft touch helping us guide this project – bringing his own mastery of the genre alongside that of le Carré’s.” Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, added, “Legacy of Spies is a dream le Carré project adapted by the brilliant Stephen Cornwell and Clarissa Ingram. We are thrilled to have The Ink Factory – who are the ultimate experts in this genre – making this series which stars some of our best actors; Matthew, Charlie, Devrim and Daniel. BBC viewers are in for a very special treat!” And Michael Wright, global head of MGM+, had this to say: “The opportunity to partner with The Ink Factory, the BBC, and this remarkable creative team to tell the story of John le Carré’s legendary George Smiley is truly a dream project. MGM+ is building its brand around classic storytelling for a modern audience, and Legacy of Spies is the embodiment of that, with a brilliant cast led by Matthew Macfadyen and Charlie Hunnam. We’re thrilled to bring it to the MGM+ audience.“
Executive producers on the series include Stephen Cornwell, Graham Yost, Simon Cornwell, Michele Wolkoff, Malte Grunert, Chris Rice, Steve Clark-Hall, Matthew Macfadyen, Charlie Hunnam, Joe Tsai, Arthur Wang, Susanne Bier, Mike Lesslie, Gaynor Holmes, Nick Lambon, and Nick Cornwell. Sam Costin will serve as co-executive producer.
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