Global film and TV studio FIFTH SEASON has inked a wave of pre-sales for Legacy of Spies, the upcoming John le Carré adaptation produced by The Ink Factory for BBC and MGM+. The eight-part espionage thriller sees spymaster George Smiley’s return to television and is adapted from le Carré’s global bestseller The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and drawing on material from his 2017 novel A Legacy of Spies – marking the first time either novel has been adapted for the small screen. The series is currently in production and will have its premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK and on MGM+ in the US. 

Handling global sales on the project, FIFTH SEASON has inked deals for Legacy of Spies with MGM+ beyond the US for markets including Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Brazil and Spanish-speaking Latin America, alongside SBS for Australia, Sky New Zealand and Sky Switzerland. A further multi-country deal has been secured with CANAL+ for its territories across France & French-speaking regions including Switzerland, and Central & Eastern Europe and Africa.

Legacy of Spies sees two-time Emmy and Bafta Award-winning Matthew Macfadyen (Death by Lightning, Succession) star as George Smiley, alongside Emmy-nominated Charlie Hunnam (Monster: The Ed Gein Story, The Gentlemen) as Alec Leamas and Daniel Brühl (All Quiet on the Western Front, Rush) as Josef Fiedler, with Devrim Lingnau Islamoğlu (The Empress) as Doris Quinz. Hugh Laurie (The Night Manager, House) and Joe Alwyn (The Brutalist, The Favourite) star as Control and Jim Prideaux respectively.

The cast also includes Agnes O’Casey (Black Doves, Lies We Tell), Félix Kammerer (All Quiet on the Western Front, Frankenstein), Dan Stevens (Zero Day, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), Jake Dunn (What It Feels Like for a Girl, Renegade Nell), Safia Oakley-Green (The Bluff, Out of the Darkness), Ariyon Bakare (Mr Loverman, His Dark Materials), Saskia Rosendahl (Fabian – Going to the Dogs, El Deshielo/ The Meltdown), Patrick Güldenberg (Die Ibiza Affäre,Tatort: Donuts), Volker Bruch (Babylon Berlin, Generation War), Anjana Vasan (We Are Lady Parts, Black Mirror: Demon 79), Charlotte Ritchie (You, Ghosts), Lee Ross (Andor, White Gold), James McArdle (Mare of Easttown, Playing Nice), John Dagleish (Sexy Beast, 3 Body Problem), Goran Bogdan (The Last Panthers, Father) and Adam Hugill (Sherwood, Dear England).

Jennifer Ebell, EVP Television Distribution at FIFTH SEASON, said: “Legacy of Spies is a landmark production on many levels – bringing George Smiley, one of the most iconic characters in British fiction, back to the screen with an extraordinary cast led by Matthew Macfadyen and Charlie Hunnam. It is a deeply international story, moving across the Cold War and into the present day, and one that feels remarkably relevant to the world we are living in now. The response from broadcasters around the world, including MGM+ significantly expanding its footprint for the series, speaks to the scale of the opportunity and the enduring power of John le Carré’s work. We’re proud to be working alongside The Ink Factory to bring this to audiences globally.”

When Alec Leamas (Hunnam), a highly experienced Circus field operative, recruits Doris Quinz (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 (Brühl) and Hans-Dieter Mundt (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 (O’Casey), an idealistic young woman whose courage and conviction force Leamas to navigate a world where loyalties fracture and betrayal is inevitable. Behind the scenes, the brilliant and taciturn spymaster George Smiley (Macfadyen) orchestrates operations while the elusive Soviet mastermind Karla looms in the shadows, setting the stage for a conflict that will define a generation. Meanwhile, Bill Haydon (Stevens), a brilliant and enigmatic Circus insider, and Control (Laurie), the fiendish and commanding head of the Circus, shape the operation from within, their own loyalties never quite what they seem. 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.

The series is show run by Stephen Cornwell (Message from the King, A Most Wanted Man), who also serves as writer alongside Clarissa Ingram. Michael Lennox (Say Nothing, Crystal Lake) serves as an Executive Producer and takes on lead directorial duties, with Claudia Llosa as second director and co-Executive Producer (The Vampire Lestat, The Milk of Sorrow).

Legacy of Spies is produced by The Ink Factory, in co-production with Amusement Park Film and in association with 127 Wall Productions and Paramount Television Studios, for the BBC and MGM+. The executive producers are Stephen Cornwell, Graham Yost (Justified, Silo), Simon Cornwell (The Pigeon Tunnel, The Night Manager), Michele Wolkoff, Malte Grunert (All Quiet on the Western Front), Chris Rice, Matthew Macfadyen, Charlie Hunnam, Michael Lennox and Joe Tsai. Susanne Bier and Mike Lesslie are also executive producers. The executive producers for the BBC are Gaynor Holmes and Nick Lambon. Nick Cornwell is executive producer for the John le Carré estate. Claudia Llosa, Sam Costin and Clarissa Ingram are co-executive producers and Nancy Bray produces for The Ink Factory.