Damian Lewis (“Billions,” “Homeland”) and Dominic West (“The Affair,” “The Wire”) are in negotiations to headline and executive produce a limited series adaptation of Ben Macintyre’s Cold War espionage thriller novel “A Spy Among Friends” for Spectrum Originals and BritBox.
The project follows the defection of notorious British intelligence officer and KGB double agent, Kim Philby (West), through the lens of his complex relationship with MI6 colleague and close friend, Nicholas Elliott (Lewis).
Philby was arguably the most famous of the ‘Cambridge Five’, British spies who notoriously worked for and several of which defected to the Soviet Union in the 1950s – betraying secrets to the Russians in the early years of the Cold War.
Philby and Elliott entered the spy game together, but as they rose through the MI6 ranks, Philby turned double agent. The show examines espionage through their friendship, the fallout of which affects East-West relations to this day.
Both Toby Stephens (“Black Sails,” “Lost in Space”) and David Oakes (“Victoria,” “The Borgias”) have played Philby in past mini-series.
Alexander Cary (“Homeland”), Sony Pictures Television and ITV Studios are behind the project which is said to have the tropes of an Ian Fleming or John le Carre novel and is tentatively scheduled to premiere in the fall of 2021. Nick Murphy (FX’s “A Christmas Carol”) will direct.
Source: Deadline
