AMC has ordered a six-episode series adaptation of John le Carré’s novel “The Little Drummer Girl” with Florence Pugh set to star, the network announced Wednesday.
The series will be produced by AMC, BBC One, and The Ink Factory. Park Chan-wook, the writer and director of films like “Old Boy” and “The Handmaiden,” will direct the series, marking his television debut. It is set to go into production in 2018. The series will be sold globally by Endeavor Content / IMG.
“The Little Drummer Girl” is set against the background of rising tensions in the Middle East in the 1970s, where a young, brilliant actress named Charlie (Pugh) prepares for her ultimate role in ‘the theatre of the real’.
The series will be financed and produced by The Ink Factory in partnership with 127 Wall and co-producers the BBC and AMC. Laura Hastings-Smith will serve as producer with Simon and Stephen Cornwell serving as executive producers alongside John le Carré, Mona Qureshi for the BBC, Joe Tsai and Arthur Wang for 127 Wall, and Wonjo Jeong.
This will be the latest adapation of le Carré’s work. Previously, “The Night Manager” was adapted into an Emmy-winning six-episode AMC miniseries starring Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, and Hugh Laurie. le Carré’s “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” is also being developed as a miniseries by AMC, BBC, and The Ink Factory.
Pugh recently starred as Katherine in critically acclaimed “Lady Macbeth,” which won her The Evening Standard Breakthrough of the Year Award. She also recently wrapped production on “Fighting with My Family,” based on the true story of WWE Superstar Raya Knight, played by Pugh. She is currently filming David Mackenzie’s “Outlaw King,” the story of Scottish king Robert the Bruce, opposite Chris Pine, and is playing Cordelia in BBC/Amazon’s “King Lear,” directed by Richard Eyre and also starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.
Park is repped by Industry Entertainment and WME. Pugh is repped by Julian Belfrage Associates and WME. le Carré is repped by Jonny Geller and Nick Marston at Curtis Brown.
