Spike delves Deep with Oldman

Viacom-owned US cablenet Spike TV is linking up with director Tony Krantz and actor Gary Oldman to develop a drama about online marketplace Silk Road.

Deep Web is being written by Under the Dome scribe Scott Gold with Krantz (24, Mulholland Drive), Oldman (True Romance) and Douglas Urbanski (Nil By Mouth) attached as exec producers. It will be produced by Oldman’s prodco Flying Studio Pictures.

The crime series is the first foray into TV producing for feature film specialists Oldman and Urbanski, and explores how consumers can buy anything from drugs to weapons via the online marketplace.

It has been inspired by a Time Magazine cover article on the notorious illegal marketplace from exec VP of Flame Ventures Drew Comins. Comins is also attached as co-exec producer.

The plot will centre on the tech genius who masterminded the service and then became one of the world’s most wanted men as it expanded beyond borders and regulations.

Sharon Levy, exec VP of original series at Spike, said the project “speaks to the network’s search for wholly distinctive and relevant ideas, ripped from today’s headlines, that reflects our brand’s evolvement.”

Spike recently ordered its first scripted show in seven years with Tut, set to air in 2015. The network has also optioned scripts for The Crusaders from Pierce Brosnan’s Irish DreamTime as well as The Chairman, based on the Stephen Frey best-seller, and War at the Shore, based on Richard D Skip Bronson’s book.