A new period drama series about Russian spies’ double lives in the US is being created in HBO’s studios.
Tentatively titled “Reds,” the project from writer-director Martyn Burke, the creator of “Pirates of Silicon Valley,” is based on the authors’ real-life experience. One of his film-crew members back in the 1980s, a decent US citizen fulfilling his American dream, turned out to be a colonel in the Soviet KGB.
“Reds” will center on several seemingly average Americans who are covertly extracting classified intelligence for Moscow during the Cold War. The HBO cable network, with its Emmy record-breaker “The Sopranos” and recent drama series “Boardwalk Empire,” certainly can handle such a challenging spy topic.
There could not be any better time to roll out such a show, considering that the fall of the Soviet Union did not cause the Russian government to stop pursuing classified information, as was proved by last year’s sensational revelation about a Russian spy ring in the US.
On June 27, 2010, US special forces performed a movie-like bust, arresting a group of 11 Russian citizens who lived deep undercover with fake IDs later discovered to originate from a Russian diplomat in Ireland.
The situation became a media sensation when one of the agents turned out to be a striking redhead, Anna Chapman. Her name was plastered across headlines and her presence among the unmasked agents deepened the impression that a James Bond-like thriller was unfolding.
The agents were later exchanged for four Russian citizens accused of working for Western intelligence services, and deported from the US.