Spy/Master Explained

Genre:Spy thriller
Creator:
  • Adina Sadeanu
  • Kirsten Peters
Director:Christopher Smith
Starring:
Composer:Lukasz Targosz
Country:Romania
Language:Romanian, English, German, Arabic, Russian
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:6
Executive Producer:
Producer:
  • Ioanina Pavel
  • Viktória Petrányi
  • Tudor Reu
  • Judit Sós
Location:Hungary, Romania
Editor:Stuart Gazzard
Runtime:50 minutes
Company:
  • Mobra Films
  • Proton Cinema
Network:HBO Max

Spy/Master is a Romanian fictional Cold War spy thriller television series created by Adina Sadeanu and Kirsten Peters and starring Alec Secareanu.[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

Victor Godeanu (Alec Secareanu) is the director of the Romanian Ministry of External Affairs and a trusted confidante 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

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

Broadcast

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

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]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cannon . Nicholas . Spy/Master: release date, cast, plot, trailer, interviews and everything you need to know . . 20 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240403174643/https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/spymaster-release-date-cast-plot-trailer-and-everything-you-need-to-know . 3 April 2024 . Bath, UK . 28 March 2024.
  2. Web site: Romanian espionage with Spy/Master on BBC Four . Crime Fiction Lover . 20 May 2024 . 1 May 2024.
  3. Web site: Spy/Master: 5 Sizzling Secrets About the Cold War Spy Thriller . 20 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230604140953/https://spyscape.com/article/spy-master-5-sizzling-secrets-about-the-cold-war-spy-thriller . 4 June 2023 . New York, USA.
  4. Web site: Balaga . Marta . ‘He is an Unreliable Narrator of His Own Story’: Creators Adina Sădeanu and Kirsten Peters Talk HBO Max Espionage Drama ‘Spy/Master’ . . 20 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230606211759/https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/hbo-max-spy-master-adina-sadeanu-kirsten-peters-1235531305/ . 6 June 2023 . Los Angeles, USA . 21 February 2023.
  5. Web site: Mușat . Laura . Alec Secăreanu on Spy/Master: „I didn’t want to make an impersonation of the real person” . Films in Frame . 20 May 2024 . Bucharest, Romania . 16 May 2023.
  6. Web site: BBC acquires Romanian espionage drama Spy/Master . . 20 May 2024 . 27 March 2024.
  7. Web site: Berlinale Series 2023: Spy/Master . . 20 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230922142428/https://www.berlinale.de/en/2023/programme/202314793.html . 22 September 2023 . Berlin, Germany.
  8. Web site: Heidmann . Patrick . Ein liebender Agent . . 21 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240413071153/https://taz.de/Spionage-Serie-Spy/Master/!5969779/ . 13 April 2024 . Berlin, Germany . de . 15 November 2023.
  9. Web site: Pickard . Michael . Master minds . Drama Quarterly . 20 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230928144117/https://dramaquarterly.com/master-minds/ . 28 September 2023 . London, UK . 16 February 2023.
  10. Web site: Edwards . Belen . 'Spy/Master' review: An enthralling Cold War thriller . . 20 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512070542/https://mashable.com/article/spy-master-review-hbo-max . 12 May 2024 . New York, USA . 18 May 2023.
  11. Web site: Vourlias . Christopher . HBO Max Sets Cold War Drama ‘Spy/Master’ as Streamer’s Central and Eastern European Production Winds Down . . 20 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221008071454/https://variety.com/2022/streaming/global/hbo-max-spy-master-central-eastern-europe-1235383561/ . 8 October 2022 . Los Angeles, USA . 27 September 2022.
  12. Web site: Bence . Inkei . Sose láthattuk olyan bénának a CIA-t, mint a Ceaușescu kémfőnökéről készült sorozatban . 24.hu . 21 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230805142553/https://24.hu/kultura/2023/06/25/spy-master-sorozat-kritika-hbo-max-roman-kemdrama/ . 5 August 2023 . Budapest, Hungary . hu . 25 June 2023.
  13. Web site: Anna . Nagy . Spy/Master kritika – Bástya elvtárs nagyon irigykedne erre a román kollegára . Roboraptor . 21 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230609115907/https://www.roboraptor.hu/2023/05/19/spy-master-sorozat-kritika-hbo-max/ . 9 June 2023 . Budapest, Hungary . hu . 19 May 2023.
  14. Web site: Maria . Ioana . Spy/Master, HBO Max lansează trailerul serialului produs în România. Când e premiera . TV Mania . 20 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230605125044/https://www.tvmania.ro/spy-master-hbo-max-lanseaza-trailerul-serialului-produs-in-romania-cand-e-premiera-413335 . 5 June 2023 . Bucharest, Romania . ro . 19 April 2023.
  15. Web site: Roxborough . Scott . Berlinale Series to Premiere Shows From HBO Max, Amazon, Disney+ . . 21 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230315200211/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/berlinale-series-hbo-max-amazon-disney-plus-premieres-1235300691/ . 15 March 2023 . Los Angeles, USA . 16 January 2023.
  16. Web site: Spy/Master . . 20 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231214233550/https://warnertv.de/serie/sendungen/spy-master . 14 December 2023 . Munich, Germany . de.
  17. Web site: Weis . Manuel . Warner TV Serie zeigt HBO-Max-Koproduktion ab November . DWDL.de . 21 May 2024 . Cologne, Germany . de . 7 September 2023.
  18. Web site: Goldbart . Max . Whittock . Jess . 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 . . 20 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240331030206/https://deadline.com/2024/03/bbc-spy-master-hbo-max-global-briefs-1235869437/ . 31 March 2024 . USA . 27 March 2024.
  19. Web site: Spy/Master – the first Romanian series nominated at the Berlin Film Festival . Q Magazine . 21 May 2024 . 17 January 2023.
  20. Web site: BBC Acquires Hungarian/Romanian Cold War Thriller Series Spy/Master . . 20 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240405123919/https://www.filmneweurope.com/news/hungary-news/item/125653-bbc-acquires-hungarian-romanian-cold-war-thriller-series-spy-master . 5 April 2024 . Prague, Czech Republic . 3 April 2024.
  21. Web site: Economou . Vassilis . Spy/Master wins the inaugural NEM Awards . . 21 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240224082126/https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/453561/ . 24 February 2024 . Brussels, Belgium . 8 December 2023.

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