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Truly shines light on Kremlin’s Long Shadow

Endemol Shine Group-owned US prodco Truly Original has linked up with Vanity Fair special correspondent and author Bryan Burrough (Public Enemies) on a true-crime documentary about Russian spies.

Bryan Burrough

Truly Original and Burrough will develop and produce The Kremlin’s Long Shadow (working title), which will examine why UK police reopened investigations into 15 mysterious deaths following the 2018 assassination attempt on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal.

Burrough will present the series, which will use a network of exclusive sources – including widows and children, defectors and spies – to link the 15 deaths to a Russian conspiracy.

Truly Original co-presidents and co-CEOs Steven Weinstock and Glenda Hersh are executive producing alongside Burrough and Truly Original’s Stephanya Bareham.

Deaths brought under the spotlight include that of Boris Berezovsky, a Russian oligarch and critic of president Vladimir Putin, who was had lived in exile in London but was found dead in what was deemed a suicide, not long after four of his British lawyers and three advisors also died suddenly in separate incidents. The show will also look at the case of British scientist Matthew Puncher, found stabbed to death on his kitchen floor (an incident also ruled a suicide) after tracing a poison used in another murder to a Russian nuclear facility.

Weinstock said: “Among Bryan’s many talents as a writer and investigative journalist is his ability to present world-defining events through a deeply personal lens, allowing him to reveal the emotional and human aspects of each story, adding depth and relevance to the facts.

“Paired with his vast knowledge and experience with this dark subject matter – so much a part of today’s cultural conversation – this documentary will shock and shed light on a frightening series of events.”

Burrough said the show “is urgent true crime with global implications, a kind of real-life James Bond film – only all of it is real.” Broadcaster details have yet to be revealed.

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