Britbox, Spectrum Originals greenlight Damian Lewis thriller A Spy Among Friends

Britbox UK and Spectrum Originals in the US have greenlit Cold War thriller A Spy Among Friends, starring Damian Lewis (Billions) and Guy Pearce (Mare of Easttown).

Damian Lewis
(photo: Amanda Edwards)

The six-part limited series, based on the New York Times best-selling factual book by British author Ben Macintyre, is being produced out of the UK in collaboration with Sony Pictures Television, ITV Studios and Veritas Entertainment Group.

Alexander Cary serves as creator and executive producer along with Patrick Spence and Nick Murphy. Lewis, whose departure from Showtime drama Billions was announced recently, also serves as executive producer through his production company, Ginger Biscuit Entertainment.

The show is directed by Nick Murphy (Save Me) and produced by Chrissy Skinns (Elizabeth is Missing). Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer and Peter Jaysen are executive producers for Veritas Entertainment Group.

Filming got underway in London this week and the project will later shoot in Romania.

In the UK, the project will premiere in autumn 2022 on Britbox, the streaming platform created by ITV and the BBC, while in the US it will debut Spectrum’s On Demand platform.

Guy Pearce

The drama tells the true story of two spies, Nicholas Elliott (Lewis) and Kim Philby (Pearce), and the betrayal and defection that hurt the UK and US intelligence services at the height of the Cold War.

The cast also includes Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland), Stephen Kunken (Billions) and Adrian Edmondson (Back to Life).

Spectrum Originals is a streaming product launched by broadband connectivity company and cable operator Charter Communications in 2019.

The platform’s original projects include Sony- and Bruckheimer-produced drama LA’s Finest, satirical drama The Bite, Mark Strong-led thriller Temple and limited series Mad About You, Manhunt: Deadly Games and Eden. It is also in production on a pair of projects from Paramount Television Studios, Joe Pickett and Long Slow Exhale.