Benedict Cumberbatch will be starring in a stranger-than-fiction limited series involving the KGB, poisoned tea, and worldwide espionage. According to Variety, the acclaimed English actor has been cast as Alexander Litvinenko in the upcoming HBO project Londongrad. Not only that, but his company Sunnymarch will also help produce the limited series.

Londongrad might share the name of a 2015 Russian comedy series, but it is far from an adaptation. The limited series will be based on Alan Cowell’s 2008 book The Terminal Spy, which recounts the story of Litvinenko. The former KGB spy and eventual defector was mysteriously poisoned in London in 2006. Twenty-two days after his hospitalization, he had succumbed to the radioactive isotope polonium-210. Much like the book, Londongrad will depict the agent’s life story as well as the investigation into how his assassination was eventually pulled off.

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Courier
Image via Lionsgate

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Bryan Fogel, who previously won an Oscar for his documentary Icarus in 2018, will direct the limited series. While known more for his documentary work, this series will not be his first narrative project, having previously written and directed the 2012 adaptation of his play Jewtopia. All The Money in The World scribe David Scarpa will take on writing duties for Londongrad. Cumberbatch’s colleagues at Sunnymarch, Adam Ackland and Claire Marshall will also executive produce the project with Fogel, Scarpa, and Len Amato.

This will be far from the first time Cumberbatch has worked on an HBO-produced project. He had gained an Emmy nomination for the 2013 miniseries Parade’s End, which also gained nominations for writing and cinematography. His 2019 television film Brexit, in which he portrayed former Boris Johnson aide Dominic Cummings, was also nominated for an Emmy. Perhaps the third time will be the charm and this new role will finally secure him a win. Londongrad currently does not have a release date.

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