According to a report in Deadline, it now looks almost certain that Damien Lewis’s documentary Spy Wars will be heading to the Smithsonian Channel. This will be the actors’ first appearance as a host of a factual program, and it is something that has been highly anticipated. CBS are understood to have wanted to keep the project on one of their channels and the Smithsonian Channel is a joint venture between them and the Smithsonian Institute. CBS also own Showtime who have just renewed Billions, which stars Lewis alongside Paul Giamatti, for a fifth season. Filming for Spy Wars has already taken place and so the news about the renewal of Billions will not affect the plans for this new show in any way.
The series is produced by Lewis’s new production company, Rookery Productions, in conjunction with British company Alaska TV and A+E Networks, who will broadcast the show on the History Channel in the UK after it has aired in the US. It will be the first project that Rookery Productions has worked on and Lewis has said that he wants to use the company to work across different genres in the world of TV, but also film and theatre. It will also give Lewis the chance to branch out into writing and directing projects, which he does not have much experience in as of yet. Given his close association with CBS so far, it could be assumed that a partnership between the two companies would be agreed. However, Lewis is keen to keep Rookery Productions independent, at least for the moment.
The first season of Spy Wars will run for eight episodes and each episode will focus on a different spy story from the Cold War all the way up to the present day and the War on Terror. More than forty years of history will be covered by the series and the real stories behind some of the best known spy stories will be told through reconstruction of events, with Lewis acting in some of these reconstructions. It will give people more of an insight into the characters and forces that were in play in some of the major events that have affected history.
As explained on the official History Channel website, the series is a docu-drama with Lewis narrating the story as well as reenacting some of the major parts of the story. The series was filmed on location in cities such as London and Moscow and features input from retired members of the security services from all over the world including MI6, the KBG and the CIA. Filming also took place in Israel. The website only gives a brief synopsis of the series overall, rather than any firm details about the content. One piece of information that is given away is that the eight episodes in the first season will all be an hour long.
When an official date for the series premiere is announced, it is likely that we will find out more about the specific stories that will be covered by the series. It is expected that the show will start to air later on in the year, but no official date has been given as of yet. It is expected that when a date is decided on, it will be promoted quite heavily by CBS, as they are see getting this show as somewhat as a coup.
The show will not just be a narrative of the different stories that are being told, the consequences of the actions of the spies within each situation will also be explored. Variety describes this as exploring the geopolitical consequences. From the little bit of information that we do have about the show, it seems as if each episode will tell a story that people think they know, but more about the whole situation will be revealed which may include things that have not been made public before now.
This is the first time that Lewis has ever been involved in a show that is not fiction, but he has had an interest in the world of spies and espionage for a number of years. He developed a particular interest in the formation of the CIA after the second world war. He is also interested in the reasons why there is a degree of hostility between the agencies of different countries when they have to work together, and that this hostility also sometimes exists between agencies of the same country. He has enjoyed the research aspect of working on this project, which may lead him to make more factual programs in the future.
Although Lewis has not played the role of a spy as such in some of his biggest shows, it is not that big a leap to make for fans of shows such as Homeland and Billions. In both of these shows he has played a character that is not always truthful about his motives and is prone to keeping secrets. It does not take a huge stretch of the imagination to see him having a role in some of the prominent spy dramas that have been on TV recently such as The Americans. The promo shot for the series which can be found on one of his fan sites could easily be used for a new action packed spy drama which sees Lewis’ character traveling all over the world.
Countries all over the world have had a spy network for hundreds of years and so there are certainly a lot of stories that could be told if a second season of the show was ordered. It may be a little too early to be thinking about this at the moment, as there has been no official confirmation of when the first season will air. There may also be Lewis’ filming schedule to take into account if further seasons of Billions are ordered. However, if the demand is there and the production companies can put a filming schedule in place, there is no reason why this series could not run for a number of years.
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