SBS, Canal+ among int’l buyers of John le Carré adaptation Legacy of Spies

Broadcasters in Australia, New Zealand and Europe have pre-bought Legacy of Spies, the upcoming espionage thriller based on the works of celebrated author John le Carré and starring Matthew Macfadyen (Succession).

Matthew Macfadyen

Josh Wool

SBS Australia and Sky New Zealand have both acquired the Ink Factory-produced show, which is being produced for the BBC in the UK and US streamer MGM+. Fifth Season is the distributor.

As well as the US, MGM+ will stream the show in Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Brazil and Spanish-speaking Latin America.

A further multi-country deal has been secured with Canal+ for its territories across France and French-speaking regions, including Switzerland and Central & Eastern Europe and Africa. Sky will also air the eight-part series in Switzerland.

Macfadyen, who has also starred in Ripper Street and Spooks, plays intelligence officer George Smiley, a central character in a number of novels by le Carré. Charlie Hunnam, Hugh Laurie, Daniel Brühl, Devrim Lingnau Islamoğlu and Joe Alwyn are also in the cast.

Legacy of Spies is adapted from le Carré’s global bestseller The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and also draws 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, currently in production, is showrun by Stephen Cornwell, who also writes alongside Clarissa Ingram.

Michael Lennox (Say Nothing, Crystal Lake) is an executive producer and takes on lead directorial duties, with Claudia Llosa as second director and co-executive producer.

It is produced by The Ink Factory in coproduction with Amusement Park Film and in association with 127 Wall Productions and Paramount Television Studios.

The executive producers include Cornwell, Graham Yost, Simon Cornwell, Michele Wolkoff, Malte Grunert, Chris Rice, Macfadyen, Hunnam, Lennox, Joe Tsai, Susanne Bier and Mike Lesslie.

The executive producers for the BBC are Gaynor Holmes and Nick Lambon. Nick Cornwell is executive producer for the le Carré estate, while Llosa, Sam Costin and Ingram are co-executive producers and Nancy Bray produces for The Ink Factory.

The Ink Factory has previously made TV and film adaptations of le Carré novels, including Tom Hiddleston-fronted The Night Manager and 2018’s The Little Drummer Girl, starring Michael Shannon, both for the BBC.