Deadline has reported that Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, The Guest), Agnes O’Casey (Ridley Road, Lies We Tell), and Felix Kammerer (All Quiet on the Western Front, All the Light We Cannot See) will join the upcoming BBC and MGM+ eight-part series Legacy of Spies, adapted from the Jean le Carré Cold War novels The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) and A Legacy of Spies (2017). Stevens will play the role of enigmatic spymaster Bill Haydon, while O’Casey will take on the mantle of Liz Gold.
Notably, A Legacy of Spies is a prequel novel and sequel to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which had been adapted prior into an Oscar-nominated movie version of the same name. Currently filming, Legacy of Spies will earmark the high-profile television return of author le Carré’s famed spy character from Cold War times – George Smiley, who is played by Matthew Macfadyen (Pride & Prejudice, Succession).
The expanded ensemble cast, via Deadline, includes Ariyon Bakare (Carnival Row, The Salvation) as Seasoned U.S. intelligence officer Cy Aflon, Volker Bruch (The Reader, The Girl in the Spider’s Web) as high-ranking Stasi official Emmanuel Rapp under the East Germans, Jake Dunn (Renegade Nell, What It Feels Like for a Girl) as Smiley’s trusted lieutenant Peter Guillam, Patrick Güldenberg (The Third King, Max Manus: Man of War) as Dr. Karl Riemeck of the East German regime, Kammerer as psychotically brutal and unpredictable Stasi enforcer Hans-Dieter Mundt, Safiya Oakley-Green (Anemone, Out of Darkness) as bright-eyed intelligence officer and one of Leamas’ (Charlie Hunnam; Pacific Rim, Sons of Anarchy) most trusted deputies Molly Gibson, and Saskia Rosendahl (Lore, Never Look Away) as Doris’ (Devrim Lingnau Islamoğlu; The Empress, Hysteria) fiercely courageous and protective sister Lotte Gamp within the East German regime.
Prior announced cast, listed by Deadline, includes Macfadyen as master spy Smiley, Hunnam as British intelligence officer Alec Leamas, Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds, Rush) as East German spy Jens Fielder, and Islamoğlu as Agent Tulip/Doris Quinz – a young and dynamic East German woman who delivers vital intelligence from the heart of the East German operation.
Per Deadline, behind the adaptation is The Ink Factory as producer in co-production with Amusement Park Film and its founders Stephen (Hotel Artemis, A Most Wanted Man) & Simon Cornwell (The Little Drummer Girl, Hotel Artemis), with Fifth Season selling worldwide. From Deadline, the Cornwells said:
“The ensemble of talent joining this production is extraordinary: both our British and our German cast bring unparalleled depth to the show, and to the realisation of the rich canvas of characters that our dad [John le Carré is a pseudonym/pen name for the author, real name David John Moore Cornwell] created in his spell-binding novels.”
The espionage thriller, from Deadline, is written and showrun by Stephen Cornwell and newcomer Clarisa Ingram. Acting as executive producer and taking on lead directorial duties is Michael Lennox (Derry Girls, The Back of Beyond). Legacy of Spies will be released in the UK on BBC iPlayer and BBC One, and on MGM+ in the United States. It is produced in association with 127 Wall Productions and Paramount Television Studios.
The Ink Factory is known for The Night Manager Season two, which has already seen success in the UK/U.S. through BBC and Prime Video. A season three for the other le Carré adaptation is already in the works.