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Spy/Master

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Spy/Master
GenreSpy thriller
Created by
  • Adina Sădeanu
  • Kirsten Peters
Written by
  • Adina Sădeanu
  • Kirsten Peters
Directed byChristopher Smith
Starring
ComposerLukasz Targosz
Country of originRomania
Original languagesRomanian, English, German, Arabic, Russian
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Ioanina Pavel
  • Viktória Petrányi
  • Tudor Reu
  • Judit Sós
Production locationsHungary, Romania
EditorStuart Gazzard
Running time50 minutes
Production companies
  • Mobra Films
  • Proton Cinema
Original release
NetworkHBO Max
Release19 May 2023 (2023-05-19)

Spy/Master is a Romanian fictional Cold War spy thriller television series created by Adina Sădeanu and Kirsten Peters and starring Alec Secăreanu.[1] Set in 1978 and filmed in Hungary and Romania, the series is loosely based on the real-life defection of Romanian spymaster Ion Mihai Pacepa.[2][3] The series was produced by Mobra Films (Romania) and Proton Cinema (Hungary) for HBO Romania and Warner TV Serie and premiered on HBO Max in May 2023.[1][4]

Plot

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Victor Godeanu (Alec Secăreanu) is the director of the Romanian Ministry of External Affairs and a trusted confidant of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu (Claudiu Bleonț) and his wife Elena (Elvira Deatcu).[5] Godeanu is secretly working for the Soviets but, with Romanian counter-intelligence about to expose him, decides to defect to the West.[1][6] Whilst on a diplomatic trip to Bonn in West Germany to negotiate the repatriation of ethnic Germans living in Romania, Godeanu hands himself in at the American Embassy.[7][8] CIA agent Frank Jackson (Parker Sawyers) is tasked with interrogating Godeanu who demands that the Americans extradite his daughter Ileana (Alexandra Bob) from Romania before he reveals classified information. An enraged Ceaușescu sends a team of spies to West Germany to kidnap and kill Godeanu as Jackson struggles to persuade his superiors to allow Godeanu into the USA.[9] Intelligence agencies from five countries - Romania, USA, Soviet Union, East Germany and West Germany - become embroiled in the defection. Meanwhile, in an intertwined plot, a group of Egyptian militants try to scupper the Camp David peace negotiations between Egypt and Israel by bombing an Israeli target in Bonn.[10]

Production

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Spy/Master was filmed in Budapest, Hungary and Bucharest, Romania.[5][11] All external scenes set in Bonn were filmed in Budapest with notable landmarks such as Déli station, Keleti station, Margaret Island, Frankel Leo Street Synagogue and the University of Technology and Economics doubling for locations in Bonn.[12][13]

Cast

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Broadcast

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The first two episodes of Spy/Master were premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2023.[14][15] The entire series premiered globally on HBO Max on 19 May 2023.[14] The series premiered in Germany on Warner TV Serie on 16 November 2023.[16][17] The series premiered in the UK on BBC Four on 4 May 2024.[1][2]

Awards

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Spy/Master was nominated for the inaugural Berlinale Series Award in 2023.[18][19] The series won NEM Award for Best Drama TV Series in the Central and Eastern European region at NEM Zagreb in December 2023.[20][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Cannon, Nicholas (28 March 2024). "Spy/Master: release date, cast, plot, trailer, interviews and everything you need to know". Bath, UK: What to Watch. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Romanian espionage with Spy/Master on BBC Four". Crime Fiction Lover. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Spy/Master: 5 Sizzling Secrets About the Cold War Spy Thriller". New York, USA. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  4. ^ Balaga, Marta (21 February 2023). "'He is an Unreliable Narrator of His Own Story': Creators Adina Sădeanu and Kirsten Peters Talk HBO Max Espionage Drama 'Spy/Master'". Los Angeles, USA: Variety. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b Mușat, Laura (16 May 2023). "Alec Secăreanu on Spy/Master: „I didn't want to make an impersonation of the real person"". Bucharest, Romania: Films in Frame. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  6. ^ "BBC acquires Romanian espionage drama Spy/Master". BBC Media Centre. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Berlinale Series 2023: Spy/Master". Berlin, Germany: Berlin International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  8. ^ Heidmann, Patrick (15 November 2023). "Ein liebender Agent" (in German). Berlin, Germany: Die Tageszeitung. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  9. ^ Pickard, Michael (16 February 2023). "Master minds". London, UK: Drama Quarterly. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  10. ^ Edwards, Belen (18 May 2023). "'Spy/Master' review: An enthralling Cold War thriller". New York, USA: Mashable. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  11. ^ Vourlias, Christopher (27 September 2022). "HBO Max Sets Cold War Drama 'Spy/Master' as Streamer's Central and Eastern European Production Winds Down". Los Angeles, USA: Variety. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  12. ^ Bence, Inkei (25 June 2023). "Sose láthattuk olyan bénának a CIA-t, mint a Ceaușescu kémfőnökéről készült sorozatban" (in Hungarian). Budapest, Hungary: 24.hu. Archived from the original on 5 August 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  13. ^ Anna, Nagy (19 May 2023). "Spy/Master kritika – Bástya elvtárs nagyon irigykedne erre a román kollegára" (in Hungarian). Budapest, Hungary: Roboraptor. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  14. ^ a b Maria, Ioana (19 April 2023). "Spy/Master, HBO Max lansează trailerul serialului produs în România. Când e premiera" (in Romanian). Bucharest, Romania: TV Mania. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  15. ^ Roxborough, Scott (16 January 2023). "Berlinale Series to Premiere Shows From HBO Max, Amazon, Disney+". Los Angeles, USA: The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Spy/Master" (in German). Munich, Germany: Warner TV Serie. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  17. ^ Weis, Manuel (7 September 2023). "Warner TV Serie zeigt HBO-Max-Koproduktion ab November" (in German). Cologne, Germany: DWDL.de. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  18. ^ Goldbart, Max; Whittock, Jess (27 March 2024). "BBC Buys HBO Max Thriller 'Spy/Master'; Kano & Tamara Lawrance Win RTS Awards; Premier League To Prime Video Nordics; ITV Theresa May Doc – Global Briefs". USA: Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Spy/Master – the first Romanian series nominated at the Berlin Film Festival". Q Magazine. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  20. ^ "BBC Acquires Hungarian/Romanian Cold War Thriller Series Spy/Master". Prague, Czech Republic: Film New Europe Association. 3 April 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  21. ^ Economou, Vassilis (8 December 2023). "Spy/Master wins the inaugural NEM Awards". Brussels, Belgium: Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
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