Yahoo News Paramount+ Sets Creative Team for Spy Drama ‘The Department’
Paramount+’s spy thriller The Department is starting to fill out its ranks.
The drama series, based on the French hit Le Bureau des Legendes, has tapped Joe Wright (Atonement, 2005’s Pride & Prejudice) as director of the first two episodes and Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (Ford v. Ferrari, Edge of Tomorrow) to write all 10 installments. The series, which comes from Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, is aiming for a premiere date later this year on Paramount+ With Showtime.
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The Department snagged a straight-to-series order in February 2023 at Showtime (shortly after Paramount Global announced the premium cabler would effectively be folded into Paramount+). At the time, George Clooney was announced as director, but he has ceded those duties to Wright. Clooney and producing partner Grant Heslov remain executive producers of the series, via their Smokehouse Pictures.
“Joe Wright is a visionary director with a gift of focusing on intricate details to craft immersive and visually striking stories,” said Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios. “Jez and John-Henry are masterful writers whose witty and emotionally charged language dives deep into their characters’ moral complexities, while simultaneously creating a propulsive narrative. Bringing these powerhouse creatives together alongside George Clooney and Grant Heslov is sure to give The Bureau the reinvention it deserves.”
Le Bureau, which ran from 2015-20, was widely acclaimed (and widely watched) in France and around the world. It focused on the division of France’s external security service responsible for training and handling deep-cover agents over the course of long-term missions. Eric Rochant created the series for Canal+; it was produced by The Originals Productions and Federation Studios.
Production on The Department is slated to begin later in 2024. Wright and the Butterworth brothers will executive produce alongside Clooney and Heslov; Keith Cox and Nina L. Diaz of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios; David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin and Bob Yari of 101 Studios; Alex Berger for The Originals Productions; and Ashley Stern and Pascal Breton for Federation Studios/Federation Entertainment of America.
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