Filming Begins on ‘Legacy of Spies’ as Dan Stevens Joins Matthew Macfadyen, Charlie Hunnam

One of espionage fiction’s most enduring stories is finally getting a new life on television.

Based on John le Carré‘s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and drawing on material from le Carré’s A Legacy of Spies, the series marks the first time either novel has been adapted for the small screen, and will see spymaster George Smiley return for a new tale of deception, betrayal, and espionage.

Starring Matthew Macfadyen and Charlie Hunnam

Here is everything we know about Legacy of Spies, including the cast, plot, and when it will premiere.

When will Legacy of Spies premiere?

Production kicked off on Legacy of Spies in April 2026. No date has been set for the eight-part BBC and MGM+ television thriller, but please check back here for updates.

What is Legacy of Spies about?

Legacy of Spies will draw on the material from the 2017 espionage novel by John le Carré, which acts as both a sequel and a prequel to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. It follows a protege of spymaster George Smiley, who is forced to justify past Cold War operations.

According to the logline, Legacy of Spies is “a story of strategy, loyalty, love and betrayal, this new adaptation brings le Carré’s world to a modern audience, capturing the urgency and disruptive spirit of the source material that first electrified readers around the world.”

It is noted as the final novel in the George Smiley series. In the book, Alec Leamas is a figure from the past whose actions in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold are re-examined.

Who stars in Legacy of Spies?

Two-time Emmy winner Matthew Macfadyen will star as spymaster George Smiley — a character previously played by Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Alec Guinness in Smiley’s People  — alongside Charlie Hunnam as maverick field operative Alec Leamas. Joining the duo are Daniel Brühl, who plays Josef Fiedler, a methodical Stasi intelligence strategist, and Devrim Lingnau Islamoğlu as Doris Quinz, a young and dynamic East German woman who delivers vital intelligence from the heart of the East German operation. Dan Stevens will take on the iconic role of antagonist Bill Haydon.

Joining Macfadyen and Hunnam is Agnes O’Casey, who joins as Liz Gold with Felix Kammerer as Hans-Dieter Mundt; Volker Bruch, Saskia Rosendahl, Patrick Güldenberg, Safia Oakley-Green, Jake Dunn, and Ariyon Bakare join the ensemble cast.

Who is behind Legacy of Spies?

The series is written and showrun by Stephen Cornwell and Clarissa Ingram, with Michael Lennox serving as lead director.

The series is produced by The Ink Factory in co-production with Amusement Park Film (All Quiet on the Western Front) and in association with 127 Wall Productions and Paramount Television Studios. The series will have its premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK and on MGM+ in the United States.