BBC and MGM Reveal First Images of Legacy of Spies

The BBC and MGM have released first-look images of Charlie Hunnam as Alec Leamas and Matthew Macfadyen as George Smiley in Legacy of Spies, an eight-part adaptation of John le Carré’s Cold War espionage story. The announcement also marks the end of filming, according to reports on the production. Hunnam plays Leamas, a British intelligence operative, while Macfadyen portrays Smiley, the spymaster who works behind the scenes. The images show Hunnam outdoors at night and Macfadyen wearing Smiley’s glasses and a suit. The drama adapts le Carré’s 1963 novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Reports also say the series draws on material from his 2017 novel A Legacy of Spies, though accounts differ in how they describe the adaptation’s source material. The production is set during the Cold War, with events centered on Berlin. In the story, Leamas recruits Doris Quinz, an East German woman, to help smuggle intelligence documents into the West. The operation brings them into conflict with East German agents Josef Fiedler and Hans-Dieter Mundt. Smiley oversees operations behind the scenes, while Liz Gold becomes caught up in the intelligence conflict.