Netflix commissions doc on software pioneer John McAfee from Curious Films

Running With the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee

Netflix has commissioned a feature-length documentary examining the life and death of software pioneer John McAfee.

Running With the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee is produced by London-based production company Curious Films and directed by Charlie Russell.

British-American computer programmer McAfee was at one point worth in the region of US$100m after creating one of the most successful pieces of antivirus software of all time. When his neighbour was murdered, however, McAfee went on the run and brought a film crew along with him as he looked to evade his alleged pursuers.

Curious Films said it had secured exclusive access to hundreds of hours of previously unseen footage of McAfee, who also ran for US president twice and escaped from jail on multiple occasions.

Curious Films co-founders Russell and Dov Freedman are executive producing the doc.

Other recent commissions for the UK prodco include Making Sense of Cancer with Hannah Fry and Reclaiming Amy, both for BBC Two; Caroline Flack: Her Life & Death for Channel 4; Squad Goals 3: Dorking Til I Die for BBC Three; and The People Vs Climate Change for BBC iPlayer.

In March, the company hired Kim Shillinglaw as a non-executive director as part of its plan to accelerate its growth.